TEHRAN - Head of Iran’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA) has said the country plans to create 10,000 megawatts (MW) capacity of new renewable power plants across the country within the next four years.

Mahmoud kamani made the remarks in the opening ceremony of the 6th edition of Iran's International Renewable Energy Conference and Exhibition (Iran REC 2021) on Saturday, IRIB reported.

According to Kamani the mentioned power plants are going to be constructed mostly by the private sector and so far, several private companies have announced readiness for generating 4,000 MW of the mentioned capacity.

“Following the call for the construction of these power plants, applications have been submitted for the construction of power plants for generating 40,000 megawatts of electricity so far, and we will conclude the required contracts in this field after receiving the necessary approval from the Economic Council.”

The official put the current capacity of the country’s renewable power plants at 905 MW, saying that such power plants account only for one percent of the country’s total power generation capacity.

“Currently, 30 percent of the world's electricity needs are provided by renewable energy sources, and some countries have even declared 2030 as the final year of using fossil fuels,” he said.

"We are far behind the global standards in the development of renewable energy," he regretted.

Referring to another program for the development of renewable energies in the domestic sector, Kamani noted that to encourage households for constructing such power plants the Energy Ministry has announced that it will buy their surplus generated electricity at a guaranteed price.

He further pointed to the indigenization of the knowledge for the construction of the equipment used in renewable power plants as another priority of the Energy Ministry and SATBA, saying: "Currently, the construction of solar panels and wind power plants is completely indigenized, and we must strengthen our producers to finally become able to build all the required equipment from start to finish, in this regard, of course, some enterprises have announced their readiness.”

EF/MA