Renewable capacity tops 4,500 MW despite $1.5b war damage: SATBA
Iran’s renewable power capacity has surpassed 4,500 megawatts despite about $1.5 billion in damage from attacks on solar energy facilities, the country’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA) said.
According to a report by IRNA on Friday, SATBA said the expansion of renewable power plants has continued without interruption and is expected to soon push installed capacity to 5,000 MW, underscoring the resilience of development plans in the sector even during the 40-day war that began on February 28.
The report said construction and grid connection of renewable plants have proceeded steadily, including in the final days of the past year when parts of the country were under attack, with around 1,200 MW of renewable capacity brought online across the country in the presence of the energy minister, Abbas Aliabadi.
The expansion comes as President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government aims to install 30,000 MW of renewable energy capacity over the next three years amid an expected power shortfall next year.
Separately, SATBA said an attack on a storage facility for solar power plant equipment caused about $1.5 billion in damages.
The organization said equipment including panels, cables and inverters were damaged in the incident.
In response, the energy minister sent a letter to the secretary-general of the International Renewable Energy Agency outlining the dimensions of the attack and providing a detailed report of the damage as an example of actions contrary to international law.
Aliabadi condemned US-Israeli strikes on the country's renewable energy infrastructure, stating that an attack on a warehouse of small-scale solar equipment caused approximately $1.2 million in losses and destroyed supplies intended to provide electricity for 3,500 households in deprived rural areas, according to a letter to the director-general of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in mid-April.