Qom Province’s Governorate has signed a memorandum of understanding with an unnamed Chinese company on building solar power plants with a combined production capacity of 30 megawatts, the province's governor general said.
“Iran is prepared to cooperate with Chinese companies, as it has allocated plots of land for photovoltaic power plants,” Seyyed Mehdi Sadeqi was also quoted as saying by Zistonline on Tuesday.
Stressing that Chinese firms have a long history of energy collaboration with Iran, Sadeqi noted without elaboration that the governorate will support foreign companies embarking on renewable ventures in the province.
“The signing of MoU means the launch of bilateral economic activities,” he said, adding that the only solution to the country’s economic problems is to attract domestic and foreign investment by reducing the bloated bureaucracy and cutting red tape.
Since July 2009, Iran has generated over 2.2 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable electricity, saving 494 million liters of water, as thermal power plants require water for electricity production.
The renewable output has also prevented the emission of 1.54 million tons of greenhouse gases into the environment.
If the renewable power volume were to be produced in thermal power plants, more than 630 million cubic meters of fossil fuels, such as gas and diesel, would have been burnt.
Iran’s renewable power production capacity has reached 602 megawatts, while renewable power plants with a combined capacity of 472 MW are under construction across the country.
The report added that data show wind, solar, hydropower, waste heat recovery and biomass power plants account for 45%, 35%, 16%, 2% and 2% of the total renewable electricity respectively.
Mohammad Sadeqzadeh, the head of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization, told ILNA on Sunday private investments in the renewable sector are projected to reach 200 trillion rials ($4.7 billion) by the end of next fiscal year (March 20, 2020).
"Private companies have invested 100 trillion rials ($2.38 billion) in the renewable power industry over the past two years," he said.
Sadeqzadeh stressed that about 1,500 small and 50 industrial renewable power plants have been launched in the country over the last two years.
