Iraq Looks To Develop 5,000 MW Solar Power Projects Next Year

• The revelation has been made by Iraq’s Electricity Minister Adel Karim.
• The country will sign contracts with regional and international companies for the development of the solar projects.

Iraq is bullish on the growth of renewable energy in the country to decarbonise its energy sector while also reducing the electricity import bills. According to reports, Iraq – which is a member of Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) – is mulling over awarding solar power projects of a capacity of about 5000 MW to foreign firms in the coming year. The revelation has been made by Iraq’s Electricity Minister Adel Karim.

Adel Karim held that his Electricity Ministry had already finalised official contracts with many foreign entities for the development of solar power projects having a total generation capacity of about 7,500 MW. The Minister said that the renewable energy projects awarded in the recent past were just part of phase one of a comprehensive plan. It is aimed at expanding the country’s reliance on clean and renewable energy.

He said, “There are plans to sign new contracts with a number of regional and international companies to build more solar power stations that will produce 5,000 MW.”

The Minister did not disclose the names of the firms that will be involved in the construction of the solar power projects. However, the Iraqi Government had already inked agreements with key renewable energy players like France-based Total Energies and Abu Dhabi-based Masdar among others to develop seven solar power stations across Iraq.

The OPEC country wants to generate 10 GW of renewable energy by 2030. It presently produces about 19,000 MW of electricity while its actual requirement is around 30,000 MW. A large part of its requirement is met through electricity imports from Iran. There are plans to import electricity also from Jordan and other Gulf countries.

Masdar had announced in June that it had started the development of solar power projects with a combined capacity of 1 GW in different governorates of Iraq. There are other two solar projects also that will be developed by Total Energies (1 GWp solar complex) and Power Construction Corp of China or Power China (750 MW). All three projects will be operational in 2025.