The Renewable Energy Organization of Iran (aka Satba) has reached an agreement with Tehran's power supply companies to assure individuals and the private sector of purchasing their solar photovoltaic electricity, a senior official said.
"As per the agreement, all private entities can apply for selling the surplus electrical energy they produce as soon as their equipment gets the green light from related authorities," Hossein Sabouri, the chief executive officer of Tehran Province Electricity Distribution Company, was also quoted as saying by ILNA.
According to Sabouri, the move is in line with the Energy Ministry's policy to increase distributed generation of electricity in the sprawling capital to prevent blackouts, especially in the summer that follows a dry winter.
Distributed generation refers to the electricity produced in small quantities near the point of use, as alternative or supplement to traditional centralized grid-connected power. It reduces the cost and complexity associated with transmission and distribution, while offsetting peak electricity demand and stabilizing the local grid. Most small-scale units in Iran are powered by diesel.
Several incentives have been formulated to encourage household and private solar power generation.
According to Mohammad Sadeqzadeh, the head of Satba, the ministry guarantees the purchase of electricity generated by all renewable sources in the country for a period of 20 years.
Individuals and private entities can invest about 50 million rials ($1,000) to set up their own 1-kilowatt power generation facilities.
According to the statistics, each household uses 2.5 KW of electricity on average. By investing 250 million rials ($5,000), people can generate 5 KW and sell the excess to the national power grid.
"Selling half of a 5-KW plant's generated power can have a monthly 8-million rial ($160) return on investment," Sadeqzadeh said.
Clients will have their excess electricity offset against their future consumption and receive cash payments by the authority each month.
Sabouri noted that investors in renewable projects who incorporate domestically-made equipment will be allowed to sell their electricity at rates 30% higher than normal tariffs. The country's installed electricity capacity amounts to 77 GW. The lion's share of power is produced with the help of fossil fuel-based power plants, hence the share of renewables in Iran’s energy mix is as low as 500 MW. The solar venture is an important stepping stone in Iran's clean energy program to add at least 1,000 megawatts, or 1 GW, to total power generating capacity each year through 2022 to give renewables a 5% growth in the country's power grid.
Iran has been struggling with water shortage for years, as it is located in a semi-arid region. Latest figures on precipitation have made the authorities look for alternative electricity generation methods to prevent the looming water and electricity crises.
Data from Iran Water Resources Management Company, a subsidiary of Energy Ministry, show that since the beginning of the current water year (Sept. 23, 2017), the country has received 90 millimeters of precipitation. The figure indicates a drastic 40.4% fall compared with the same time of last year that received 150.9 mm of rain.
