BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 12. Iran has identified 1,123 locations for the installation of solar panels, primarily targeting sites for 3-megawatt solar units, Abdolreza Hosseini Mehr, the project manager of Iran's Power Generation, Distribution, and Transmission Company (known as Tavanir), told journalists, Trend reports.
According to him, the new plan is set to generate a total electricity production potential of around 3,860 megawatts from solar panels.
Currently, this plan is being presented to investors for consideration. Hoseini Mehr further noted that efforts are underway to increase the number of locations for installation, with projections indicating that the number of suitable sites will reach around 2,000 by the summer.
“Building solar power stations is considered a low-cost and short-term process for increasing electricity production in the country. For instance, 5-kilowatt solar panels can be completed within two weeks and 3-megawatt systems within four months," he said.
The official also mentioned that each 1-megawatt solar station requires around 1.2-1.5 hectares of land, while a 3-megawatt station requires 4-4.5 hectares. These areas are typically leased to investors for 30 years. Investors can sell the electricity generated from these stations for 22,000 rials (0.37 cents) per kilowatt-hour to Iran's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA).
Solar panels in Iran have the potential to produce 810 megawatts of electricity, accounting for 60 percent of the renewable energy stations' total electricity production capacity.