Production of wind and solar plants will see a two-fold increase by the end of the present Iranian calendar year (March 2015) compared to the previous year, managing director of Iran Power Generation and Transmission Company (TAVANIR) said Monday, IRNA reported.
"Generating 1000 megawatts (MW) of electricity from wind and solar plants will double electricity production from renewable resources by the end of the year," said Homayoun Haeri, adding that the increase will be carried out in the form of buy-back agreements.
Deals have also been signed for the construction of several steam plants with a capacity of 7,000 MW.
He stressed that electricity exports should increase and the export of technical and engineering products and services will contribute to economic growth and employment.
Electricity exports to neighboring countries increased more than 4 percent in the March-September period, and production increased by 7 percent compared to the same period last year.
Iran exported more than 5164 gigawatts of electricity to bordering countries, a 3.37 percent increase from 4995.5 gigawatts in the said period.
The government hopes to produce 5,000 MW from renewables within two years and plans to target rural communities who have been largely cut off from government services. Laws and incentives have recently been passed to encourage domestic and foreign investment in the country's renewable energy projects.
Electricity generation from wastewater has also commenced in several refineries and will be expanded in the near future, director of biomass department at the Renewable Energy Organization of Iran (SUNA), Javad Nasiri, said.
said, "A five megawatt (MW) power plant has been established in Tehran's main refinery in the south and another 2 MW plant is under construction."
Biomass is the largest global source of renewable energy, and contributes an estimated 10 percent of global energy production, in particular as a direct source of industrial and domestic heat.
Iran has the capacity to generate more than 10,000 MW of electricity via biomass, with 25 cities in the country capable to generate at least 400 MW of electricity from waste material, according to Nasiri.
