Shiraz Solar Panel Plant Under Construction

Iran’s largest solar panel manufacturing company is under construction in Shiraz, the provincial capital of Fars, an official at Fars Regional Electricity Company said.

“The plant’s first phase has been launched on a 12,500-square-meter piece of land with,” Hamzeh Roqanian was quoted as saying by ILNA on Monday.

According to the official, Taban Energy Development Company is in charge of building the plant by a line of credit opened by Bank Hekmat Iranian to fund the project.

Referring to the increasing construction of plants for manufacturing photovoltaic panels in Iran, the official noted that Iranian and foreign investors are increasingly embarking on the construction of such companies, which manufacture equipment for renewable power plants.

“Fars and Bushehr provinces are leading the field in developing solar panel manufacturing plants. A total of 83 such plants are to be established in the two provinces,” Roqanian said.

Taban has undertaken the construction of two plants in the cities of Abadeh and Eqlid in Fars Province, each with a 10-MW power production capacity, Roqanian added, hoping that the projects would go on stream by March.

The official noted that five 10-MW solar power plants are also being developed in Abadeh, Eqlid, Kharameh, Kohmareh Sorkhi and Lamerd Energy Intensive Industries Special Economic Zone, all in Fars Province.

"To reduce investment risks in the solar industry, the Energy Ministry has announced its commitment to seal 20-year power purchase deals with the privately-owned solar power plants," he said.

The share of renewables in Iran’s energy mix is 240 MW, or just around 0.3% of total installed power generation capacity of 76,000 MW.

Iran has huge potential to harness renewable energies, including geothermal, solar and wind power.

According to the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization, plans are in place to launch 5,000 MW in new renewable capacity, including solar and wind, by 2022.