Six Solar Plants to Open as Iran Expands Renewable Portfolio
TEHRAN (Dispatches) - Six new solar plants will come online in Fars province in southern Iran Thursday, marking another watershed in the country’s path to a decarbonized energy system and expanding its renewable portfolio.
President Hassan Rouhani and Energy Minister Reza Ardekanian managed the commissioning of the plants, including the 10-megawatt Kourdeh project in Larestan, via a video conference.
"These industrial power projects, which have entered the operation phase mainly with foreign investment, beside promising utilization of clean energy, suggest the ineffectiveness of the pressures caused by oppressive sanctions against our country,” the news agency said.
Kourdeh is the biggest of the plants, built by a private developer with 11 million euros of investment.
"With the operation of this power plant, an annual release of 13,712 tonnes of environmental pollutants will be avoided, and 4,272 cubic meters of water will be saved a year,” the Fars province’s deputy governor Jalil Husseini said.
The other plants will become operational in Shiraz, Eqlid, Lamerd and Nayriz. They will collectively add 33 megawatts of new capacity to Iran’s national grid.
They will also raise overall renewable energy capacity in Fars province to 58.6 megawatts, Husseini said. He said permits have been issued to set up 17 more solar plants with capacities ranging from one to 25 megawatts in the province.
Renewable energy is booming in Iran, but new U.S. sanctions under President Donald Trump have disrupted some of Tehran’s expansion plans.
President Hassan Rouhani and Energy Minister Reza Ardekanian managed the commissioning of the plants, including the 10-megawatt Kourdeh project in Larestan, via a video conference.
"These industrial power projects, which have entered the operation phase mainly with foreign investment, beside promising utilization of clean energy, suggest the ineffectiveness of the pressures caused by oppressive sanctions against our country,” the news agency said.
Kourdeh is the biggest of the plants, built by a private developer with 11 million euros of investment.
"With the operation of this power plant, an annual release of 13,712 tonnes of environmental pollutants will be avoided, and 4,272 cubic meters of water will be saved a year,” the Fars province’s deputy governor Jalil Husseini said.
The other plants will become operational in Shiraz, Eqlid, Lamerd and Nayriz. They will collectively add 33 megawatts of new capacity to Iran’s national grid.
They will also raise overall renewable energy capacity in Fars province to 58.6 megawatts, Husseini said. He said permits have been issued to set up 17 more solar plants with capacities ranging from one to 25 megawatts in the province.
Renewable energy is booming in Iran, but new U.S. sanctions under President Donald Trump have disrupted some of Tehran’s expansion plans.