TEHRAN – Generating electricity from renewable sources prevented the emission of 12.8 million tons of Green House Gases (GHG) in Iran during the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-September 21), according to the Iranian Energy Ministry.

As reported, the provinces of Khuzestan, Bushehr, Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari, Tehran, Kermanshah and Ilam respectively had the highest production of clean energy among the provinces of the country, IRNA reported.

Last week, Iranian Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi said the capacity of the country’s renewable power plants is going to be increased by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (late March 2025).

Speaking at a meeting of the Parliament Energy Committee, Aliabadi said that each renewable power plant with one kilowatt hour capacity(kWh) produces 1,800 kilowatt hours of electricity in a year.

The minister expressed hope that the country’s power generation capacity will be increased by 6,000 MW by the end of the current Iranian year.

In late July, Hea of Iran's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA) 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.

The members of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Energy Committee have called for attracting foreign investment to develop the country’s renewable power plants.

During a meeting, the members of the mentioned committee emphasized that it is possible to use the capacities of foreign investors with proper planning to develop the country’s renewable sector.

“We must prepare a development roadmap for the country’s renewable energy industry [and to this end] we need joint investment,” a committee member said in the meeting.

Also, the mentioned committee and Iran Renewable Energy Association, held a press conference on the occasion of the Six Conference of Iran Renewable Power Plants, which was held on October 1 and 2.

Issues related to the renewable energy sector were discussed in the press conference, held at the place of ICCIMA on Saturday, participated by Arash Najafi, the chairman of ICCIMA Energy Committee, Davoud Madadi, the head of Iran Renewable Energy Association, and Mohammad-Amin Zanganeh, the secretary of the association, who talked about the power imbalance in the country, the problems in the field of renewable energy and the solutions ahead.

They said that solving the problems of the renewable sector requires the creation of stable financial resources.

EF/MA