Solar energy and wind power to meet 10% of Iran’s energy needs

He added that solar and wind power plants will generate 12,000 megawatts, equaling 10 percent of the country’s need to electricity, the Fars news agency reported on Friday.

Iran plans to double its renewable energy output by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2015), he said, adding that the country’s renewable power output is scheduled to reach 400 megawatts by the yearend.

In December 2014, Iranian Deputy Energy Minister Houshang Falahatian said the country prioritizes generation of electricity from different sources of energy.

He said 1000 megawatts of electricity should be generated annually from renewable energies in Iran.

Iran’s power generation capacity currently stands at 68,000 megawatts. The capacity has grown by 7 percent annually over the past 10 years.

In November 2014, Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian outlined plans to develop the national electricity industry, placing the priority on the expansion of solar and wind power plants.

He also said that Iran’s old and low-efficiency power plants should be decommissioned and the gas-fired power plants should be converted into combined-cycle plants.

Iran has prepared a plan which could increase the efficiency of its power plants to 45 percent from the current 38 percent by 2025.

The administration of Hassan Rouhani envisions a bright future for solar energy and has allocated $60 million for solar energy projects in the current Iranian calendar year (March 2014-March 2015) compared to just $12 million in the previous year. It especially wants to target rural communities largely cut off from government services across the country.