Baghdad [Iraq], September 20 : Iraq is set to open its first industrial-scale solar power plant in Karbala as the government seeks to address an electricity crisis that has triggered frequent nationwide blackouts, Al Jazeera reported.
Authorities confirmed that the facility, the largest of its kind in the country, will be inaugurated on Sunday and is expected to eventually generate up to 300 megawatts of electricity at peak capacity, according to Iraqi media cited by Al Jazeera.
The project spans some 4,000 dunams (1,000 acres or 400 hectares) in the al-Hur desert area of Karbala, southwest of Baghdad. Tens of thousands of solar panels have been installed in rows across the site.
Nasser Karim al-Sudani, head of the national team for solar energy projects in the Iraqi prime minister's office, said another plant under construction in Babil province will add 225 megawatts, while a 1,000-megawatt project is also set to begin in the southern province of Basra.
"These projects are part of a larger vision to account for a portion of Iraq's electricity needs using large-scale solar power plants that could help ease the electricity crisis while also reducing the negative environmental impact of gas emissions," Al Jazeera reported.
Deputy Minister of Electricity Adel Karim said Iraq has solar projects with a combined capacity of 12,500 megawatts either being implemented, in the approval stage, or under negotiation. Excluding the semi-autonomous northern Kurdistan region, the projects could supply up to 20 percent of Iraq's overall electricity demand, according to the official.
Despite being rich in oil and gas resources, Iraq has struggled with electricity shortages for decades, largely due to war, corruption, and mismanagement. According to Al Jazeera, nationwide power consumption peaked at nearly 55,000 megawatts this summer, with temperatures soaring above 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of the country.
By contrast, Karim said Iraq currently produces about 28,000 megawatts, including nearly 8,000 megawatts from natural gas imported from Iran and channelled to Iraqi power plants.
However, those imports have faced recurring disruptions, particularly due to unilateral US sanctions imposed on Tehran. In March, Washington ended a sanctions waiver that had allowed Iraq to directly purchase electricity from Iran, though another waiver remains in place permitting the purchase of Iranian natural gas for Iraqi power stations.
Iran itself has been grappling with severe energy shortages, further affecting its export capacity to Iraq, Al Jazeera reported.
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