TEHRAN – The electricity generated by Iranian renewable power plants in the ninth Iranian calendar month Azar (ended on December 21, 2023) stood at 125 million kilowatt-hours (Kwh).

Electricity generation from renewables in the said month led to economizing on the consumption of natural gas by 34 million cubic meters while saving 28 million liters of water.

It also prevented the emission of 70,000 tons of Green House Gases (GHG).

The development of renewable power plants in Iran has accelerated since the current government administration took office in August 2021.

The Energy Ministry in the 13th government has defined new investment packages and strategies to attract more capital to fund new renewable projects across the country.

According to energy experts, such investment models in the 13th government have been a good incentive for investing in this sector.

The mentioned measures led to the capacity of the country’s renewable power plants reaching 1,085 MW, which is a very good figure.

In last July, Mahmoud Kamani, the head of the country’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA), said the capacity of renewable power plants is increasing regularly and daily in the country.

Putting the under-construction power plants into operation will further increase this capacity, Kamani said.

In mid-November, 2023, the spokesperson of the Iranian Energy Ministry’s electricity sector has said that the necessary preparations have been made for the construction of renewable power plants with a total capacity of 6,900 megawatts (MW) across the country.

Mostafa Rajabi-Mashhadi put the current nominal capacity of the country’s renewable power plants at 1,090 MW, saying that the ministry plans to add 5,400 MW to the capacity of the mentioned power plants across the country over the next Iranian calendar year (begins in late March 2024).

Rajabi-Mashhadi, who is the head of Iran Grid Management Company, expressed hope that with the increase in the share of renewable power plants in the country’s electricity network, the use of fossil fuels will decrease in thermal power plants.

In mid-December 2023, the head of SATBA called on the country’s private investors to participate in the construction of 4,500 megawatts (MW) of solar power plants over seven months.

“The construction of 4,500 megawatts of solar power plants can be carried out by investors within seven months because the necessary infrastructure has been provided and the government supports the plan,” Kamani said in a meeting with the private companies active in the energy sector.

Emphasizing that the construction of 11,000 MW of renewable power plants has been put on the agenda for the next two years to solve the problem of fuel and electricity imbalance in the country, he continued: “A special work is being done and the top authorities of the country are collaborating to facilitate the construction of renewable power plants in the country.”

In late November, 2023, SATBA and Iran National Innovation Fund (INIF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for paying 3 trillion rials (about $6 million) of facilities to small-scale projects in the field of renewable energy.

The MOU was inked by SATBA Head Mahmoud Kamani and INIF Managing Director Mohammad-Sadeq Khayatian in a ceremony at the place of SATBA.

Addressing the signing ceremony, the SATBA head said: “This memorandum aims to grant facilities to small-scale projects in the field of renewable energy, including green electricity supply contracts, industrial self-supply power plants, and renewable power plants in industrial and specialized solar towns in five years.”

Kamani added that maximum use of the legal capacities and facilities available in Iran National Innovation Fund, including the credits of Article 16 of the Law on the Jump in the Knowledge-Based Production and the resources of the Energy Consumption Optimization Account through the fund, along with the introduction of companies active in the field of renewable energy and electricity efficiency in order to issue the guarantee are some of the purposes of this memorandum.

According to this law, industries with electricity consumption of more than one megawatt are required to supply the equivalent of one percent of their annual electricity needs through the construction of renewable power plants, and this process is supposed to reach five percent within five years, the deputy energy minister further stated.

SATBA has also inked an MOU worth $5 billion for financing renewable power plant projects belonging to non-governmental public institutions with the National Development Fund (NDF) in mid-October, 2023.

The MOU was inked by NDF Deputy Head Alireza Mir-Mohammad Sadeqi and SATBA Head Mahmoud Kamani in a ceremony at the place of NDF on October 16, 2023.

Financing for the construction of renewable power plants up to a ceiling of five billion dollars (within two years) will be carried out by the National Development Fund, and includes the use of other methods for supplying resources based on the statutes and regulations of the NDF.

Addressing the signing ceremony, Kamani referred to concerns about future electricity supply shortages and the effectiveness of such plans, and said: “Network capacity, electricity generation, and power plant fuel supplies are limited. Therefore, the development of renewable power plants, in addition to promoting sustainable network development, can help overcome challenges in fuel supply and fossil fuel production.”

He added that the main issue with the electricity network is financing, and with the cooperation of the National Development Fund and foreign and domestic currency facilities, this problem can be solved.

In September, an official with the SATBA said that the development of renewable power plants in Iran has accelerated since the current government administration took office in August 2021.

According to Ali Shab-Navard, the Energy Ministry in the 13th government has defined new investment packages and strategies to attract more capital to fund new renewable projects across the country.

“Different investment models in the 13th government have been a good incentive for investing in this sector,” the official said.

The mentioned measures led to the capacity of the country’s renewable power plants reaching 1,085 megawatts, which is a very good figure, he added.

MA