TEHRAN – Iran’s Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian said on Sunday that his country plans to establish 5,000 megawatts (MW) capacity of renewable power plants within the next five years and France could be a good partner achieving this goal, IRIB news agency reported.

According to the report, Chitchian made the remarks in a meeting with French Minister of Environment, Energy and Marine Affairs Ségolène Royal in Tehran.

After the meeting, Chitchian said that the two sides discussed the ways of cooperation in the field of renewable energies, among other topics.

Royal for her part said that Iran and France could cooperate in the field of renewable energies such as wind, solar and etc.

“Considering 3500 kilometers of seashores available, two countries can also collaborate in the field of marine energy,” she added.

Chitchian further added that Iran’s Ministry of Energy is also ready to cooperate with French companies in other fields such as deep water exploration, restoring the groundwater balance and new technologies in the field of desalination.

The collaboration could be in the form of investment or using new systems of production, Chitchian said.

Mentioning the capacities and capabilities of Iran's water and power industries, the energy minister stressed that his country plans to increase its renewable energy generation capacity to 7,500 MW by 2030.

EF/MA