Baghdad: Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani affirmed that establishing medium-scale solar power networks is one of the new and reformative solutions for providing energy to the outskirts of Baghdad. A statement from his media office indicated that “Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani chaired a meeting dedicated to discussing smart solutions for managing renewable energy and its applications (solar energy and smart meters) in the districts and sub-districts of Baghdad. The meeting was attended by the head of the Higher Committee for Coordination between Governorates, the Governor of Baghdad, representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the State Real Estate Department, the Ministry of Agriculture, and a group of district and sub-district directors from Baghdad.”
According to National Iraqi News Agency, the statement added that “the meeting reviewed renewable energy projects and the proposed investment mechanism for projects in the districts and sub-districts to achieve the specified production targets. Solar energy production was also discussed, and a study was presented on selecting districts and sub-districts in Baghdad for establishing suitable projects based on the abundance of sunshine days.”
The Prime Minister emphasized the government’s strong commitment to the electricity sector and the necessity of preparing for the upcoming summer season. He explained that the government has pursued several avenues to secure electricity and has adopted new power generation models within recent project contracts. He added that the government has also taken reformative steps regarding contracting and investment to ensure electricity supply.
He further clarified that establishing medium-scale solar power plants is one of the new and reformative solutions for providing energy to the outskirts of Baghdad, which consume approximately 30-35% of the total electricity supplied to the governorate. He noted that new solar power plants equipped with smart meters will provide this amount of energy.
The Prime Minister directed the Ministries of Finance and Agriculture, along with the State Real Estate Department, to hold extensive meetings to prepare the land designated for these projects, ensuring their readiness for operation and energy supply during the coming summer, thereby increasing production capacity, particularly in Baghdad Governorate.
The meeting addressed topics related to investment, production volume, collection methods, the provision of land for medium-sized solar energy projects, and details concerning a solar energy project that will produce approximately 750 megawatts per day.