Experts say expanding the renewable energy sector in water-stressed regions is one viable alternative for farmers who have very little water and suffer due to crop losses and failures in recent years.
Farmers can use their land for setting up solar farms to harness renewable energy, especially solar and wind. The shift away from farming that usually wastes massive amounts of already scarce water, could help save water and alleviate the existing water crisis. It also can create much-needed jobs in the rural regions and encourage people there to stay in their villages instead of migrating to cities in search of work, IRNA said in a special report.
Close to 20 million Iranians live in rural areas, accounting for about 26% of the total population. It is being reported regularly that the rural folks are leaving in increasing numbers mainly due to the water crisis and lack of work opportunity.
The worsening economic conditions and water scarcity have created such tough conditions that entire villages in the drought-hit areas are being abandoned and in its wake creating another crisis -- migration to urban areas already under stress duo rising populations and limited resources.
In such conditions, the development of renewable energy in rural regions, with abundant land and unlimited access to sunlight and strong winds, can and will lead to sustainable income and help reduce the worrying rural-to-urban migration patterns.
With more than 300 sunny days in a year, Iran has huge potential to expand solar farms and attract investments.
According to the Energy Ministry, 3,000 solar power stations will be installed in (deprived) regions by the end of the current fiscal in March and installation of 30,000 more is planned for next year.
Solar power is becoming an increasingly important part of the planet's energy mix. In Iran, the government is offering incentives to shore up solar energy from large-scale photovoltaic stations to solar panels on rooftops to expedite the shift from fossil fuel to renewables.
Installed electricity output capacity in Iran is 82,000 megawatts. A large part of it comes from fossil fuel-based power plants. Renewable power production capacity is reported to be 670 MW.
Wind, solar, hydropower, waste heat recovery and biomass plants account for 45%, 35%, 16%, 2% and 2% of the total renewable electricity respectively.
Extended Woes
Iran is grappling with the worst drought in half a century and large parts of the country could face severe water deficits as the crisis worsens due to waste and unacceptably high consumption in the agro sector.
“If the country’s concern was water for agriculture in the past, now the dilemma is about declining levels of potable water for the large and growing numbers,” the secretary of the national workgroup on adaptation to water shortage said Tuesday.
“More than 30 million people, about 30% of the population, faced drinking water shortage in summer,” Banafsheh Zahraee said.
She said the water crisis is “due mainly to climate change, as precipitation declines and warmer weather increases the demand for water for farming needs.”
As the country suffers from years of drought, the government is often accused of poor water management, leading to misuse of underground water tables for agricultural needs.
Expansion of industries, population growth, overconsumption and waste are also among the factors making a bad situation worse.
