Iran’s total actual renewable electricity generation capacity reached 865 megawatts (MW) during January 21-February 19, 2020, according to the SATBA.
The installed renewable electricity generation capacity of Iran, stands at 3,724 MW. This comes as renewable power plants with a capacity of 350 MW are under construction in the country.
In addition, the increased use of renewable energies in the same 30-day period to February 19 helped reduce consumption of fossil fuels and emission of greenhouse gases in the country by 1.25 billion cubic meters and 3,032 tons respectively.
Iran is speeding up efforts for development of renewable energy sector. In early February, the Energy Ministry, in a report, announced that latest data shows Iran’s electricity generation capacity from the renewables had reached 841 MW.
The report added that the country’s renewable power capacity had grown by five times since 2013.
It said a total of 120 MW-scale renewable power plants are active in Iran, including 55 solar farms that generate more than three terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity and 19 wind farms with around 2.6 TWh of capacity.
Scientific studies suggest that Iran can increase electricity generation from the renewables to up to 80,000 MW, of which around 80 percent can come from the solar energy.
The Iranian government has defined a target of 4,000 MW for 2021. An umbrella development document stipulates that Iran should generate 5,000 MW of renewable power by March 2022.
Increase in renewable capacity can also allow Iran to free up a significant amount of natural gas burnt in thermal power plants and feed it to export pipelines.
IRNA News Agency