Installed capacity of renewable energy in Iran had a 4-fold increase in the past five years.
In 2015, the capacity of new energy sources was 200 megawatts. It reached 800 MW in 2019, the Energy Ministry news website Paven reported.
However, renewables account for barely 1% of the total installed energy generation capacity that has reached 84 gigawatts.
In the next five years, Iran wants to add 4,000 MW to renewable capacity to meet growing domestic demand and expand its presence in the regional electricity market. Iran buys and sells power in the region.
The number of small scale solar power plants across the country, which are used by households or small industries, has increased in the past years.
A total of 115 large solar farms are now operating. In addition, 3,650 small-scale solar power plants have been built in different regions, and 2,500 rooftop photovoltaic power units are being constructed.
Private companies have put more than $1 billion in the gradually expanding renewable sector, mainly solar and wind energy.
In addition to boosting electricity production, construction of clean energy plants will help improve the livelihoods of needy households.
Iran has a diverse climate of vast windy lands and more than 300 sunny days a year, which makes it ideal to tap into wind and solar power.
Based on Energy Ministry data, solar power plants top the list of renewable energy facilities (44%), followed by wind power plants (40%). About 13% comes from small hydropower plants, 2% are geothermal and 1% is for biomass.
Middle East Is Attractive
The Middle East is the second most popular region for renewable energy investment after North America, according to a recent report from UK-based law firm Ashurst.
The region is home to some of the largest renewable energy projects in the world. The UAE, for instance, is currently developing the Mohammed Bin Rashid Solar Park, the world’s largest concentrated solar power project in the world.
“Considering the huge renewable energy resources available in the region it is not surprising that the Middle East and North Africa ranked so highly for current and future investment. Added to that, the record-breaking low prices of solar in the region make the technology incredibly attractive to developers,” said Ashurt’s head of Middle East, David Charlier.
The report gathered data from over 2,000 senior business people in the Group of 20 countries that either work for energy companies, are investors in energy, service providers to energy companies, or have responsibility in energy decision making for other sector companies.
Around 26% of respondents to the survey in the Middle East said that they were presently investing in energy transition, marking the region as the most popular for current investment in renewables, while 11% added that they were considering investing.
In North America, the most popular region, 28% said that they were currently investing, with 11% stating they are considering investing.
