Close to 2.57 billion kilowatt hours of electricity was generated from alternative energy sources over nine years curbing both water and fossil fuel consumption.
This volume of clean energy was produced from July 2009 to September 2018 and helped reduce the emission of 1.775 million tons of greenhouse gases and save 566 million liters of water and 730 million cubic meters of fossil fuel, ILNA reported.
Currently, 85 plants generate renewable energy in Iran. Half of the units are solar, and the rest are powered by wind, water and biomass, Mohammad Sadeghzadeh, deputy energy minister and head of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA), said Sunday.
He said more plants are under construction across the country. Also there are 2,000 rooftop photovoltaic power stations operating, and the same number is being installed in different regions.
“The current local production capacity of renewables stands at 650 megawatts,” Sadeghzadeh said and hoped that by the end of the next fiscal (March 2020) nearly 500 megawatts would be added to the national grid boosting renewable capacity to over 1,100 MW.
Iran has enormous potential for the production of a variety of renewable energies, including geothermal, solar and wind power, environmentalists and experts say.
Sadeqzadeh has expressed optimism over the future of renewable power production as the industry registered an impressive 40% growth in the last fiscal and is now approaching 60% compared to the corresponding period last year.
Water shortage and its negative impact on hydroelectric and thermal power generation have made the role of renewables, which produce 70% of their annual output in the summer season without the need for water, more crucial in deciding energy policy and promoting environmentally-friendly industries.
According to Energy Ministry data, wind and solar power plants account for 43% and 39% of the country's renewable production capacity respectively. Small hydroelectric plants, waste-to-energy complexes and biomass factories constitute 15%, 2% and 1% of the total renewable capacity respectively.
