TEHRAN - Iranian renewable power plants generated 261 million kilowatt-hours (Kwh) of electricity in the previous Iranian calendar month of Tir (June 21- July 21), registering a nine-percent growth compared to a month earlier.

According to the data released by Iran's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA), renewable power plants generated over 923 Kwh of electricity since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 19), IRNA reported.

The electricity generated by renewable sources also 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.

In late July, SATBA Head Mahmoud Kamani said 600 renewable power plants with a total capacity of 13,500 megawatts (MW) are under construction across the country and with these power plants going operational the share of renewables in Iran’s power generation will reach 15 percent.

“We hope that by implementing these power plants, the share of renewable energies in Iran's electricity production will increase to more than 15 percent in the next two years,” Kamani said.

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.

Earlier that month, SATBA reported that the capacity of Iran's renewable power plants has reached 1,199.71 MW.

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.

EF/MA