A total of 1,100 portable solar power stations will be delivered to nomadic households in Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province by the end of the current Iranian year (March 2022), managing director of the provincial power distribution company said.
“Each solar plant can generate 100 watts of electricity and power at least five low-energy light bulbs, a flashlight and a cellphone,” Jamal Motamedi-Zadeh was also quoted as saying by the Energy Ministry’s news portal Paven.
Solar panels generate sufficient power to help households meet their needs in the middle of a plain or a desert.
“Ten percent of the cost of the solar power plants will be paid by the families and the rest will be financed by the government,” the official said.
“We hope that the expansion of clean and renewable energy consumption will reduce the destructive effects of using fossil fuels in the southwestern province.”
Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad has a population of 713,000 people, about 12% of which, equivalent to about 80,000 people, are nomads.
Promoting renewable sources of energy by supplying nomads with mobile photovoltaic panels is on the government agenda to ensure their access to uninterrupted electricity during their journeys.
Twice a year, nomads move from one place to another in search of pasture and water for cattle, set up tents and nurture livestock.
Domestic companies manufacture the PV stations and deliver to the relevant organizations for installation.
Modern technology has helped nomadic communities to continue with their own way of life without outside interference.
Rapid urbanization and expansion of cities have dwindled the population of nomads who mostly straddle regions in Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad, South Khorasan, Fars and Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari provinces.
Data show that nomads made up almost one-fourth of Iran's population a century ago, which figure has dwindled to barely 2% of the population of around 83 million.
