Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 6
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
A company from South Korea has signed a deal to finance and build two wind farms in Iran, Nematollah Torki, head of the Tehran Provincial branch of the Management and Planning Organization, said.
The deal envisages building a wind farm, worth $600 million, in Fars Province, and another one, worth $220 million, in Zabol city in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Torki said, SHANA news agency reported Oct. 6.
He did not unveil the South Korean firm’s name.
The first wind farm to be built with cooperation of a university in the city of Shiraz will have a capacity to produce 200 megawatts of electricity, Torki said.
The projects will be financed under the BOT (build-operate-transfer) arrangement, he added.
The Iranian official further said the projects are expected to be completed during a 15-month period.
Iran is the biggest electricity producer in the Middle East and North Africa, operating thermal and, to a lesser extent, hydro power plants.
The country has a significant renewable energy potential. The wind capacity only is estimated at 30,000 megawatts.
Iran currently produces 74,000 megawatts of electricity, but plans to raise the figure to more than 120,000 megawatts within the next 10 years.
The government is eyeing renewables as a new alternative to fossil fuels, which constitute about 90 percent of Iran’s energy mix.