Capacity of Iran’s renewable power plants touches 1,200 MW

July 16, 2024 - 12:54

TEHRAN - The capacity of Iran's renewable power plants has reached 1,199.71 megawatts (MW), based on the latest data released by Iran's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA).

Of the mentioned figure, the share of wind power plants is 31 percent with 366.3 megawatts and the share of solar power plants with 529.9 megawatts is 58 percent, according to the SATBA data for the end of the third Iranian calendar year of Khordad (ended on June 21).

Small hydropower plants account for 9.0 percent of the country’s total renewable power with 103.67 megawatts.

Biomass power plants also have a one percent share with 12.5 MW, and the share of expansion turbine power plants with 9.6 MW is also one percent.

Over the past few years, the Iranian government has taken serious measures to accelerate the growth and development of renewable energies in the country.

Diversification of financing models for renewable projects, increasing the ceiling of guaranteed electricity purchase, providing the possibility of buying and selling renewable electricity in the green board of the Iran Energy Exchange (IRENEX) and providing the possibility of exporting renewable electricity have been the most important measures taken for this purpose.

Iranian Energy Ministry has also put it on the agenda to add 10,000 MW to the capacity of the country’s renewable power plants by the end of the current government’s administration (August 2025).

Considering the fact that the country’s renewable power generation capacity stood at about 800 MW when the current government took office in August 2021, the mentioned increase in renewable energy capacity would mean a 13-fold rise.

Back in January 2022, the Energy Ministry and some of the country’s private contractors signed memorandums of understanding (MOU) for cooperation in the construction of new renewable power plants across the country.

The electricity generated by renewable sources increased by 28 percent in the third Iranian calendar month of Khordad (ended on June 20) compared to the same month last year.

Renewable sources generated more than 230 million kilowatt hours of electricity, an increase of 21 percent in comparison with a month earlier.

Wind power plants held the lion’s share of the rise in the production of electricity by renewable sources.

Based on the Energy Ministry data, renewables, currently, account for nearly seven percent of the country’s total electricity generation capacity.

Of the country’s total renewable capacity, 44 percent is the share of solar power plants while the share of wind farms stands at 40 percent and small-scalded hydropower plants generate 13 percent of the total renewable capacity.

EF/MA

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