This volume of clean energy was produced from July 2009 to January 2019 and cut the consumption of 781 million cubic meters of fossil fuels. It has also saved 605 million liters of water.

Renewable ventures are gaining popularity in the country; with more than 300 sunny days throughout the year, Iran has huge potential to expand solar energy infrastructure and attract foreign investments.

The country meets more than 80% of its electricity demand from thermal power plants that run on fossil fuels. Of the total 82,000 MW production capacity, only a meager amount of 680 MW goes to renewables.

Figures on Iran’s power sector show that 42% of the country’s renewable energies come from solar power, 41% from wind farms, 13% small from hydroelectric plants, 2% from heat recovery and 2% is constituted by biomass.

Saeed Farrokhi, Markazi province’s deputy governor for economic affairs, said the photovoltaic power plant will be constructed over a 2,000-hectares area near the city of Saveh, turning it into the largest producer of renewables in the country.

According to him, “equipment and panels required for harnessing 100 MW of electricity have so far been imported,” and the project will commence in near future.

The project has been funded by a UK-based Iranian investor, Farrokhi added, providing no further details.

Renewable ventures are gaining popularity in the country; with more than 300 sunny days throughout the year, Iran has huge potential to expand solar energy infrastructure and attract foreign investments.

The country meets more than 80% of its electricity demand from thermal power plants that run on fossil fuels. Of the total 80,000 MW production capacity, only a meager amount of 670 MW goes to renewables.

Figures on Iran’s power sector show that 42% of the country’s renewable energies come from solar power, 41% from wind farms, 13% small from hydroelectric plants, 2% from heat recovery and 2% is constituted by biomass.

According to Energy Ministry, some 445 megawatts of renewable power plants are currently under construction, in line with the government’s plans to launch 5,000 MW of new renewable capacity, including solar and wind, by 2022.

Iran has also pledged to slow climate change by promoting cleaner energies. In December 2015, 195 nations, including Iran, signed an agreement at the Paris Climate Conference to move away from fossil fuels with a goal of limiting a rise in average global temperatures to well below 2 degrees Celsius.

Iran promised at the Paris Climate Conference to curtail greenhouse gas emissions by increasing power production from renewable sources to 7,500 MW by the end of next decade.

According to Energy Ministry, 2.673 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy were produced form June 2009 to the end of 2018, leading to the reduction of about 1.844 million greenhouse gases emissions.

Moreover, this amount of alternative energy production has reduced 759 million cubic meters of fossil fuel consumption in the country, which is one of the main sources of air pollution in Iran. The volume has also saved 588 million liters of water consumption in recent years, with the share of December alone being about 14 million liters.

The MoU was signed at the venue of Yazd Investment Services Center in the presence of Deputy Governor General of Yazd Province for Coordination of Economic Affairs Ali Zeynivand, Mayor of Yazd Mehdi Jamalinejad, Chairman of Yazd City Council Gholamali Sefid, representative of Sino Steel Corporation and CEO of Italy’s Denikon Company.

Under the contract, the two Italian and Chinese companies will construct a solar power plant [from 500 to 1,000 megawatt] and also factory for the generation of solar panels.

Italy’s Denikon Company is tasked with identifying, promoting and developing international investment opportunities while China’s Sino Steel Company is state-owned corporation which is busy active in the fields of mines, metals, power plants and transport.

China’s Sino Steel Company has so far invested $2.5 billion worth of capital in Iran.

Given the geographic vastness and high number of sunny days, Yazd is famous for Iran’s solar energy paradise.

With the empowerment of private sector in construction of small-scale sunny power plant, use of fossil fuels will decrease in coming years in this province to a great extent.

The average annual sunny hours in Yazd Province stands at 3,200, so that suitable ways have been paved in this province for the construction of solar power plants.

Currently, domestic and foreign investors have shown deep interest in construction and installation of 700-megawatt solar energy in this province.