German companies eyeing power plants construction in Iran
By Sara Rajabova
Following the nuclear deal between P5+1 and Iran, German companies plans to build power plants in the Islamic Republic.
Deputy Iran’s Energy Minister Houshang Falahatian said Iran it will soon sign deals with German companies for constructing new electricity generation plants as the country seeks to add up to 37,000 megawatts to its national power grid, Press TV reported.
This come after German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel visited Iran at the head of a 60-member delegation including executives of Siemens, Linde, VW, Daimler and GIZ last month.
Falahatian said conclusion of nuclear talks with the West led to new openings for resuming cooperation in energy and power industries with the Germans and expanding it.
“Transfer of know-how and technology for water and electricity economization, upgrading efficiency of power plants and building new power plants, including renewable and new energy facilities constitutes the main tops of our talks,” he said.
From 14 percent to 18 percent of the electricity produced in Iran is wasted during transmission, according to official reports.
Iran is the biggest producer of electricity in the Middle East, generating over 70,000 megawatts-hours. Thermal stations account for 85 percent of the electricity produced in Iran and hydropower plants for 14 percent of that.
Iran's power consumption hit a historic record on June 21, reaching 47.344 gig watt (GW).
Over the past few months, Iran has held negotiations with several other European companies for partnership and investment in the country’s electricity and energy industries sector.
Falahatian said up to 37,000 megawatts of new power generation capacity will be created within a six-year period based on a major program.
The plan includes generating about 5,000 megawatts from renewable energy sources with the help of German companies which are among “the world’s front-runners” in producing clean energy and renewable, he said.
“Negotiations for transfer of technology and know-how for building renewable energy generation units, especially solar and wind plants, are advancing at a satisfactory pace and we expect agreements to be signed soon,” Falahatian added.
German companies are planned to partner local entities through providing finance or direct investment in Iranian projects.
Falahatian said Iran’s power and energy market is highly attractive and economically viable for German firms.
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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
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