Iraq’s projects to develop 7.5 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power before 2023 in line with the Ministerial Energy Council decision are on the right track. This was confirmed in a statement by Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar Ismail broadcast Oct. 3 on SkyNews Arabia.
The projects are part of a reform plan in the energy system, aimed to generate 63% of electricity from clean energy within five years, Ministry of Electricity spokesman Ahmed Moussa said Oct. 23.
So far, the Iraqi government has concluded contracts with a group of international companies specialized in clean energy to establish power stations with a capacity of 3.5 GW, as part of a plan to produce 12 GW.
Most recently, Iraq inked with Abu Dhabi's state-owned Masdar a contract to develop solar photovoltaic projects of a combined capacity of 1 GW. The first stage of these projects is being implemented now. They include a 450 megawatt (MW) plant in Dhi Qar, a 350 MW plant in Anbar, a 100 MW plant in Ninevah and another 100 MW plant in Maysan. The Iraqi government also signed a contract with French oil company TotalEnergies for building a 1 GW solar plant in the Basra region. This is in addition to an agreement with a consortium led by Norway’s Scatec to build a 525 MW solar project consisting of a 300 MW plant in Karbala and a 225 MW plant in Babylon, at the cost of 3.6 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh).
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