Iran launches its biggest solar power plant

The solar power plant – that has been constructed in Kerman’s Zarand – has an annual production capacity of 390 megawatts (MW).

It comprises an 80 kilowatt power plant, 170 solar-powered light posts, 340 LED lamps, and a 4,000-meter cable network, reported the Persian-language newspaper Forsat-e Emrooz.

Iran has already announced plans to add 5,000 MW of new solar energy and wind energy capacity by 2018.

The majority of the new capacity will be from wind energy projects. Nevertheless, Energy Minister Hamid Chitchina has previously emphasized that 500 MW has already been designated for solar power projects.

Experts say Iran’s push towards renewable energy resources is due to the fact that energy demand in the country is growing rapidly. As it stands currently, the Iranian grid has a total capacity of 70,000 MW, while demand is growing rapidly — about 5,000 MW per year.

They also say that the high levels of solar radiation in Iran, coupled with the relatively low production costs of solar, have already made investment in solar energy projects attractive.