Iran to Build Solar Power Plant with S. Korean Investment

The governor of Zarandieh, Mohammad Qanati, says the project will also involve Iran’s private sector.

“Earlier, a delegation from South Korea visited the area in which the power plant is set to be established,” Qanati was quoted as saying in a Farsi report by IRNA.

He also added an area of 28 hectares has been allocated to the project. “A South Korean company will provide 70 percent ($44m) of the required investment for launching the project. The remaining part will be funded by an Iranian company.”

According to Qanati, the solar power plant will be built within the next 15 months with a production capacity of 17mw.

The governor said the strategic location of Zarandineh town near the capital Tehran and Imam Khomeini International Airport has made it an appropriate place for investment.

“That’s why many domestic and foreign companies are interested in making investment in the town,” he concluded.

Zarandieh is home to about 400 big and small production companies.

With the first largest gas reserves and the fourth oil reserves in the world, Iran is a global hydrocarbons giant. The Iranian policymakers, however, are very eager to develop renewable energies to increase energy security, reduce the country’s dependence on hydrocarbons, and realize its growth targets in electricity demand.

Iran’s topography is quite appropriate for renewables and that makes the fulfillment of these objectives pretty realistic and probable for the Iranian government.

Iran enjoys a great diversity in its climate and vast arid regions. The southern, northwestern and southeastern regions of Iran receive around 300 days of sun per year, and thus are uniquely suitable for solar energy production.

According to the data released by Iran’s Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology, the government has given particular priority to the country’s central regions, including Yazd, due to its climate and proximity to the national power grid.

With the recent removal of sanctions, Iranian companies now have greater access to a wider range of increasingly sophisticated solar technologies and financing to purchase and develop them. The immediate benefits will be rapid installation of technologies and, in the long-term, the country is likely to gain the ability of producing a significant amount of its solar infrastructure domestically.