TEHRAN – Solar power plants across Iran managed to generate 455.28 megawatts (MW) of electricity in the previous Iranian calendar month (November 22-December 21, 2021), accounting for 50.38 percent of the total electricity generated by renewable sources in the country.

Based on the said data, wind power plants with 310.2 MW of power generation accounted for 34.31 percent of the total power generation by renewable sources in the mentioned month, standing in second place in the country’s renewable energy basket, IRNA reported.

The share of small hydropower plants in the total renewable energy generation was also 11.58 percent in the said period, with 104.7 MW of electricity output.

Biomass power plants produced 10.56 MW of electricity to account for 1.17 percent of the total renewable electricity generation.

According to Head of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA) Mahmoud Kamani, despite having great potential, the total capacity of the country’s renewable power plants currently stands at 904.07 MW, indicating that the share of the renewables in Iran’s total power generation is less than 10 percent.

The share of renewable in the power generation basket of most advanced nations across the globe has increased to more than 37 percent on average, the official said.

Kamani had previously announced that Iran has the potential to generate over 100,000 MW of electricity from solar power plants and 40,000 MW from wind farms.

Renewable power generation capacity to increase 208% by March 2023

Iranian Planning and Budget Organization (PBO) announced on Saturday that considering the budget allocations for the development of renewable energy in the next fiscal year’s national budget bill, the nominal capacity of renewable power plants is expected to reach 1,925 MW in the next Iranian calendar year (March 2022-March 2023).

The country is currently planning to add 10,000 MW to its renewable power generation capacity over the next four years.

Earlier this month, the Energy Ministry and some of the country’s private contractors signed memorandums of understanding (MOU) for cooperation in the construction of the mentioned renewable power plants.

The MOUs were signed following the Energy Ministry’s public call for the contribution of private companies in a project for developing renewable power plants in the country.

According to SATBA, after the ministry’s public call, so far 153 requests for the generation of 90,000 MW have been submitted to the ministry by private companies.

Speaking in the signing ceremony, Energy Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian said: “When the private sector invests in this industry [the renewables], the government is obliged to return the equivalent of the investment plus its interests to the investor.”

Mehrabian noted that the government has allocated over 30 trillion rials (about $101 million) for the development of renewables in the budget bill for the next Iranian calendar year (begins on March 21), saying that it is an unprecedented budget in this area.

Further in the ceremony, Kamani mentioned some of the Energy Ministry’s plans for the development of the country’s renewable energy industry, saying: “Export of renewable energy is a goal that has been targeted by the government.”

“Constructing renewable power plants for the cryptocurrency miners is also being seriously considered,” he added.

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