Private Sector Expanding Solar Photovoltaic Capacity in Kerman

A new solar farm in Jiroft County in the southern Kerman Province was linked to the national power grid on Tuesday. 
The privately-owned station increased solar photovoltaic capacity in the region to 80 megawatts, the Energy Ministry’s news website Paven reported.
Built over 20 hectares, it is the 12th solar farm in the desert province.
Costing $12 million and built by the private sector (Iranian Power Plant Processing Management Company), the plant will generate 18 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year and help reduce greenhouse gases. 
If the same amount of energy was to be produced by a thermal power plant, 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide would be emitted annually. Likewise, the plant will save the consumption of 5 million cubic meters of natural gas and 4 million liters of water.
Ten other small-scale plants went on stream in different counties of the province last week, the largest of which was a 200-kilowatt station in Sirjan.
Thirteen plants are under construction in the province, the completion of which will increase the region’s power output capacity by 100 MW in summer.
Located in the southeast, Kerman is among the largest provinces in Iran. Having a dry climate, it has sufficient solar radiation and many solar farms and rooftop photovoltaic systems have been installed there in recent years. 
A total of 1,266 rooftop-mounted systems are already functioning in the province, with a total capacity of 10,228 kilowatts.