Iraq Renewable Energy

 

 

Baghdad Invest - 11/02/2013

A project that will use solar and wind power to generate electricity in 15 rural areas kicked off on Monday (January 28th), the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity said.

Iraqi companies have started to build integrated complexes for solar cells and wind-powered electricity towers, ministry spokesman Musaab al-Mudarres told Mawtani.

The 39 billion dinar project ($33.5 million) is expected to take two years to complete, he said, and the ministry anticipates it will generate 55 megawatts of electricity a day in its first phase.

The goal is to produce 400 megawatts of electricity a day within four years, which will provide local businesses and residents with considerable services, he said.

"The areas chosen to implement the project are not served by the national electricity network because they were recently established, and also because they are far from city centres," he said.

The project is "a new experiment in Iraq", deputy electricity minister for energy distribution affairs Amer al-Douri told Mawtani.

"It comes as part of ministry efforts to diversify energy sources, and to lower carbon emissions, which affect the environment," he said.

With the help of an industry-leading Canadian company, sites were chosen in eight provinces in areas where sun and wind are expected to be available throughout the year, al-Douri said.

Of the 15 facilities – located in Baghdad, Anbar, Najaf, al-Muthanna, Dhi Qar, Basra, Maysan and Wasit – 10 will have systems powered by joint solar and wind energy generating systems, while five will be dedicated to solar energy alone.

Last week, the government sent 300 engineers and energy technicians to Canada to receive training in the administration of clean-energy facilities, said Saleh al-Mutlaq, deputy prime minister for service affairs.

Equipment and accessories for the facilities, including solar cells, energy tanks, transformers and windmills are expected to arrive in Iraq by mid-2013, and will be installed by three companies – one Canadian, one German and one Swedish, he said.

"The project will provide a continuous supply of energy to the border areas between Iraq and two neighbouring countries, and the energy will be used to install night-time lighting that will help in improving security in those areas," al-Mutlaq said.

The initiative also will generate 3,000 jobs, particularly suitable for young people with higher education, said Ali Abdullah of the ministry's projects department.

"Work on this project was supposed to start in 2006, but the deterioration in the security situation and attacks by al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups on electricity facilities prevented its execution, until security forces were able to regain control of various cities in the country," he said.
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