German investors will construct solar power plants in the central province of Kerman, a member of the Energy Commission at Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture said.
In a meeting between an unnamed German delegation, Kerman Governor General Alireza Razm-Hosseini and officials from Jask Total Development Company, a memorandum of understanding was signed on building four solar power plants in Kerman, Ali Shams-Ardekani was quoted as saying by IRNA.
"The cities of Mahan and Rayen have been selected as the construction site for three small-scale power plants … Feasibility studies are also underway for building a large [solar] plant with a production capacity of 1,000 megawatts," he added.
Shams-Ardekani noted that 48% of the projects will be financed by the German side.
"We hope the building process of the first solar plant in Mahan with an output of 10 MW will commence by February 2016," he said.
The official added that the German contractor has experience in building such solar and wind plants in Germany and China. He did not name the German company though.
Mahan's 10-MW power plant will act as a pilot project for the remaining plants.
Masoud Torkan, managing director of Jask Total Development Company—the Iranian co-investor—said long-term plans have been made to turn Kerman into a solar power hub in Iran.
To expand power production infrastructure from renewables, Iran has turned to European powerhouse Germany that produces 90,000 megawatts from renewables, more than Iran's total power generation capacity of 74,000 MW.
Shareholder and chairman of the board of the German holding company said the company is not intending to bring in all of the facilities but aims to produce certain parts of the plants inside the Persian Gulf country.
"We have plans to educate Iranian workforce and exploit their expertise in the joint construction of solar panels in Iran," Schumacher said.
With mostly sunny days throughout the year and several windy locales, Kerman is a suitable place for constructing solar and wind plants.
Experts say Iran can produce 40,000 MW of wind power and the amount can increase fivefold.
Akbar Adibfar, an official at MAPNA, told ISNA that solar power is potentially capable of supplying Iran's total electricity demand, provided payments would be guaranteed. "As guaranteed purchase prices are the same for both wind and solar energies but wind power plants will bear less cost, many investors intended to venture in this area, rather than in solar energy." This is while because of changed prices, investment in solar energy has recently gained momentum, he said.
