Renewables Can Help Curb Annual Gas Use by 70 bcm

Iran's potential to harness renewable energy, including solar and wind power, can help curtail natural gas consumption by a massive 70 billion cubic meters annually, Iran Renewable Energy Association’s secretary-general said.
“Close to 70 bcm of gas are burnt in thermal power stations in Iran each year to generate around 300 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. The same amount of power can be produced, if untapped solar and wind energy potentials are unlocked,” ILNA also quoted Mohammad Amin Zanganeh as saying.
Studies by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (Satba) have shown that wind and solar farms with an installed capacity of 40,000 megawatts and 80,000 MW of power respectively can be constructed in Iran, he added, noting that the potential capacity far exceeds the country’s demand of 70,000 MW and the surplus can be exported to energy-hungry neighbors.