Iraq to connect 2.75 GW solar trio to the grid in 2025 - report

Iraq expects three major solar projects with a combined capacity of 2.75 GW to be put into operation in 2025 despite the existing obstacles related to their grid connection, the head of the country's Commission for control of radioactive sources told the Iraqi News Agency on Tuesday.

The three initiatives include a 1-GW contract with UAE's renewable energy company Masdar, a pact with TotalEnergies SE (EPA:TTE) for a 1-GWp solar complex and 750 MW of solar capacity to be deployed by Chinese state-owned conglomerate Power Construction Corp of China (Power China).

Since the contracts for the three projects were signed last year, Iraq has taken steps to prepare for their implementation such as selecting the right place for the solar plants, the Commission chairman Kamal Hussein Latif said. So far, Anbar in the west of the country, as well as Basra and perhaps Muthanna in the south, have been picked as they are considered promising regions for solar power.

A major issue that needs to be considered by the Ministry of Electricity is the transportation of the electricity from these plants as connecting capacity of such scale to the grid will result in an overload. The ministry needs a plan for establishing transfer stations and feeding the electricity into the national power grid through transmission stations, Latif said.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!