TEHRAN- Referring to the government’s policy of developing solar power plants in the country, the director of the engineering office of the Iranian Water and Power Resources Development Management Company said: “Based on this, the construction of solar power plants next to dams has been put on the agenda.”

Hassan Ahmadi added in an interview with IRNA’s economic correspondent: “A memorandum of understanding was recently signed with the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA) to develop a solar power plant at the site of the dams that have been built, given the availability of ready land, the existence of the electricity grid, and other advantages.”

Stating that within the framework of this memorandum, 500 megawatts of electricity can be produced in this way, he noted: “Given the country’s capacity in terms of sunny hours, the development of solar power plants is a good source of electricity supply.”

Meanwhile, Iranian energy minister has announced that three new packages, one conventional and two more technical models, will be unveiled for the construction of household solar power plants in the coming week.

Abbas Aliabadi said that according to plans, by the end of this year, about 3,800 megawatts will be added to the capacity of renewable power plants in the country, adding, “In the previous period, as a result of previous years, the capacity of our renewable power plants was about 1,200 megawatts, which has now exceeded 2,000 megawatts, which is a significant figure. God willing, by the end of this month, this number will reach about 3,000 megawatts, and by the end of the government, the goal is for this figure to reach 30,000 megawatts.”

The minister has said that the government fully supports private sector investment in renewable energy, as the country continues expanding its solar power infrastructure to address long-standing imbalances in the electricity sector.

MA