5000 MW by 2015? Iran wants to launch the largest solar power plant in the Middle East. A solar plant is in the works is in Shiraz, Fars. Image via SUNA
About 27 people die every day in Tehran, from its shocking levels of air pollution according to our Iranian blogger Mehrdad. Some anti-regime environmentalists, by the way, have joked that they hope this will eventually be the end of their jogging president. This week, however, Iran’s Renewable Energy Organization says it will launch the largest solar power plant in the Middle East by 2015.
The organization’s head Yousef Armodeli told Press TV that Iran’s solar power plant in Shiraz in the province of Fars, will go online by 2015. It is being upgraded from a 250 kW plant to a 500 kW plant (Wikipedia). This conflicts with press reports saying the Shiraz plant will be the biggest in the Middle East.
Back earlier in May Iran launched a 484 MW solar thermal combined cycle power plant in Yazd, the province famous for those windcatchers. This new plant is the first in the world to combine natural gas and solar energy, according to Iranian media.
Iran is one of the world’s most important suppliers of fossil fuel, and along with Saudi Arabia recognize that Peak Oil is approaching. Saudi Arabia is also going solar.
About 80 percent Shiraz plant has been built locally by Iranians, known for their science smarts. According to the article the “Islamic Republic has made great strides in generating energy from renewable sources, mainly solar and wind power.”
The country ambitiously aims to produce 5,000 megawatts of electricity from renewable energy resources, about 3 percent of Iran’s over all needs. A little cleaner air for Tehran, maybe. Less greenhouse gases certainly, unless the population continues to grow and westernizes.
But like much of the propoganda that comes out of Iran, we will wait to see if its promises on renewables come to anything real. Meanwhile it’s heartening to see solar panels in front of nuclear smokestacks.
::Press TV
Author: Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist, innovation strategist, and founder of Green Prophet, one of the Middle East’s pioneering sustainability platforms. She has ranked in the Top 10 of Verizon innovation competitions, participated in NASA-linked challenges, and spoken worldwide on climate, food security, and future resilience. With an IoT technology patent, features in Canada’s National Post, and leadership inside teams building next-generation agricultural and planetary systems — including Mars-farming concepts — Karin operates at the intersection of storytelling, science, and systems change. She doesn’t report on the future – she helps design it. Reach out directly to [email protected]
Please note that the “nuclear smokestacks” you referred to in the last paragraph based on the picture is rather misleading.
The picture shows the gas-fired powerstation in Yazd, and the solar power plant in its vicinity is a parabolic trough solar thermal plant, not a PV plant, hence no panels.
Furthermore, the “smokestacks” you refer to are merely cooling towers, which only emit steam! These are standard power plant hardware any where in the world, and for most thermal-energy based plants. In essence, they serve to emit the excess heat from the power generating cycle to the environment. Get your facts right. Hopefully, other influential media outlets scan your pieces for factual accuracy before publishing them!
Yazd, for God’s sake – Yazd. Not Yadz. Its only a 3000 year old city.
Updated that. As a westerner I can never get used to z and d being together without a vowel between them.