Industrial-scale solar farms that generate around 3 megawatts of electricity are needed to meet the nation’s growing power demand, especially in industries.
Mahmoud Kamani, the head of the Renewable Energy Organization (Satba), made the statement during his address to a conference titled “Development of Renewables in Industries” in Tehran on Monday, the Energy Ministry’s news portal reported.
Industries should move toward striking a balance between meeting their energy requirements and reaping the benefits of solar power.
Expansion of infrastructures in photovoltaic farms has become a compulsion as they not only provide industrial sector with the stable electricity all year long, but the surplus can also be sold either to cryptocurrency miners, or to the state-run Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company (Tavanir), or traded at Energy Bourse, he added.
According to the official and based on data from the International Energy Agency, around $2.8 trillion will be invested in energy in 2023.
More than $1.7 trillion are going to clean energy, including renewable power, nuclear, grids, storage, low-emission fuels, efficiency improvement, end-use renewables and electrification.
“Solar power panels are rapidly becoming mainstream alternative energy sources in the world and global investment in renewables will exceed that of fossil fuels in 2023,” he said.
The global solar market size was estimated at $62.7 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $267.8 billion by 2030, growing at the compound annual growth rate of 17.51% over the forecast period 2022 to 2030.
Cheapest Energy Sources
Refuting unsubstantiated claims about the exorbitant prices of renewables, he added that solar and wind energy have continued to occupy top spots in terms of the cheapest energy sources.
Both energy sources cost significantly less than fossil fuel alternatives and continue to become more affordable every year. Solar PV, particularly in terms of its scope, significant price decreases across the board and increasing energy capacity, can be seen as the true winner.
According to Kamani, the guaranteed purchase price paid by the government for renewable power generated by private companies has increased to incentivize the private sector to invest in more initiatives.
“New tariffs will be announced by the Energy Minster soon and Satba hopes that they are reasonable enough to attract potential investors,” he said.
“Satba has speeded up the issuance of licenses to permit industrial units to harness renewable energy,” Ahmadreza Tavakkoli, the head of Legal Affairs Office at the state-run Satba, said.
“Eight industrial units, which are mostly located in cement, steel and petrochemical facilities, are now allowed to build solar and wind farms with a capacity of 2,314 megawatts.”
Giving a breakdown, he noted that of the total capacity, solar and wind power plants will account for 1,877 MW and 400 MW respectively and the rest is expected to be biomass systems.
“Licenses to build nine more renewable power stations with a capacity of 1,062 MW will be granted to other industrial companies in the near future,” he added.
Wind Farms
As per the contract between Tavanir and industrialists, the former is obliged to help all industrial units set up solar or wind farms, with stable power all year round, especially during peak demand hours in June and July.
Manufacturing, fabrication and distribution environments can offload a considerable amount of their energy expenditure to renewable energies. Opportunities include lighting and climate control systems, material heating and cooling processes and chemical and petrochemical refinement systems.
Investing in clean, on-site power technologies will go a long way in saving energy and money.
According to Mohammad Javad Mousavi, the deputy head of the Iranian Renewable Energy Equipment Manufacturers and Suppliers Association, major breakthroughs have been made in storing solar power in batteries and concerns regarding fluctuations in power output are gradually being removed.
“Investments in photovoltaic power projects have several advantages for industries, especially steel mills, one of which is that a 10-megawatt solar farm can become operational in four months,” he said.
“Major breakthroughs have been made in storing solar power in batteries and concerns regarding fluctuations in power output are gradually being removed.”
