Iran Producing 426 MW from Solar, Half of Total Renewables Output: Report

A new report showed that Iran’s production of electricity from solar sources has topped 426 megawatts (MW), or around half of the total renewables output. ISNA said in a report that total renewables production in Iran in the nine months to December 20 had reached 5.7 million megawatt hours (MWh). The report said wind farms had been responsible for 303.2 MW, or 35% of power output capacity in Iran’s renewables sector. Small hydroelectric power stations generated 105.65 MW of electricity, or 12% of the mix, it said, adding that waste heat recovery units and biomass power plants had produced just over 23 MW, or three%, over the nine-month period. Renewables output capacity had reached 895.12 MW in late December, said the report.

Renewables helped prevent the release of 3.8 million metric tons of greenhouse gasses over the three quarters of the Iranian calendar year, according to Iranian Energy Ministry data cited in the report.

The figures showed that only in the month to December 20, Iran had saved over 1.2 million cubic meters of water and around one million cubic meters of natural gas by tapping renewable sources for electricity generation.

Iran has invested heavily to expand renewables as it seeks to rely less on conventional methods of power generation. The government has introduced various measures to encourage the use of solar energy in the country, including giving cheap loans to households to expand the use of rooftop solar panels. Renewables currently account for just over one% of Iran’s total electricity production capacity of over 85 gigawatts. - Iran Daily