Page 13 - AsiaElec Week 44 2022

AsiaElec RENEWABLES AsiaElec

Iran renewables capacity

to exceed 1,000 MW March

ASIA IRAN’S renewable energy capacity is expected cutting any foreign investment overnight.
to reach 1,000 MW by the end of the current In December 2020, Iran’s MANA Energy
Persian calendar year (March 20, 2023), Paven PAK commissioned the first solar cell factory in
website reported on October 27. the country, with an estimated 150 MW being
The website affiliated with the Ministry of able to be produced by the company each year.
Energy reported that the growth in solar produc- The company also said it had been able to
tion in the country was the major rise in renew- produce 1.2 GW of multi- and monocrystalline
able energy capacity in the country in recent wafers per year, the component that generates
years. According to the International Renewable the power in solar panels.
Energy Agency, the country installed around 50 Earlier Iran announced ‘it could produce
MW of new PV power in 2020 and around 90 5,000 MW of renewable energy from rooftop
MW in 2019. solar as part of an industry-backed scheme,
Iran is naturally blessed with some of the best Shargh on October 17 reported the vice chair-
insolation of any country on the planet, with man of the country’s Association of Manufactur-
huge tracts of deserts able to support the instal- ers and Suppliers of Renewable Energy Goods
lation of thousands of solar panels. The longest and Services (SATKA) as saying.
average seasonal (summer) and annual sunshine SATKA vice chairman Mohammad Javad
hours for Mashhad in the north-east of country Mousavi said this 5,000 MW of electricity pro-
are about 1,036.1 hours and 2,887.2 hours per duced by rooftop solar would go some way to
year respectively, showing that every city in the alleviating Iran’s annual electricity deficit.
country might tap into the solar power trend. SATKA said “120mn toman” (roughly
Despite this solar good fortune, the Islamic $3,400) low-interest 20-year loans are to be
Republic, through poor governance and over-re- awarded to households who install panels for
liance on cheap oil and gas, has not taken the rooftop solar, but did not say from where the
industry seriously. Recent power outages dur- funding would be drawn or which banks would
ing the summer months as power consumption take part in providing the loans.
skyrockets due to air conditioning in cities like The Iranian government envisages an ambi-
Tehran and the overuse of cheap electricity have tious 10 GW of new renewable capacity being
spurred the authorities to take passive solar developed in Iran by 2025.
power seriously. Earlier this year, Energy Minister Ali-Akbar
The Iranian authorities claim the issue is not Mehrabian said Iran’s solar farm installed capac-
their own directives and governance but US ity was nearly 900 MW. That’s equivalent to 49%
sanctions on the country, which hamper the for- of Iran’s electricity generation capacity from
eign direct investment (FDI) in solar projects. renewables, according to the country’s Renew-
There is some truth to the claim, as in 2016 sev- able Energy and Energy Efficiency Organisation.
eral foreign backed groups began the installation Renewables, including hydropower, account
of solar projects in the country but all pulled out for 7% of Iran’s total energy generation, official
when US President Donald Trump withdrew data shows. Natural gas accounts for 90%.™
from the Iran Nuclear Deal or JCPOA in 2018,

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