TEHRAN - The capacity of Iran's renewable power plants is going to increase by 500 megawatts (MW) by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2025), an official with Iran's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA) said.

“Considering the capacity of the new power plants under construction, the capacity of renewable power plants will increase by 500 megawatts by the end of the current year,” Ali Shabnavard, the director general of SATBA’s Office for Supervision of Construction and Production of Power Plants said.

This trend shows the serious determination of the Ministry of Energy and the government to overcome the imbalance of electricity supply and demand by the development of renewable energy in the country, he stressed.

He put the current nominal capacity of the country’s renewables at 1,371 MW, adding that just last week 53 MW was added to the capacity of the country’s renewable power plants.

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 2025.

In January 2022, the Energy Ministry and some of the country’s private contractors signed memorandums of understanding (MOU) to cooperate in the construction of new renewable power plants across the country.

Iranian renewable power plants generated 264 million kilowatt-hours (Kwh) of electricity in the fifth Iranian calendar month of Mordad (July 22-August 22), registering a 23-percent growth compared to the same month in the previous year.

According to SATBA data, renewable power plants generated over 1280 Kwh of electricity since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20).

The electricity generated by renewable sources also increased by nine percent in the fourth Iranian calendar month of Tir (ended on July 21) compared to a month earlier.

In late July, SATBA Head Mahmoud Kamani said 600 renewable power plants with a total capacity of 13,500 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.

EF/MA