Renewable Energy

Acwa Power awarded 1GW solar project in Iraq

January 10, 2025, 2:10 PM

A solar power project at the Faihaa oil field in Basra, Iraq. The country is engaged in a programme to tackle persistent power supply failures

Saudi major for Najaf project
Iraq continues renewables push
Solar output target of 12GW

Iraq has invited Saudi Arabian utilities major Acwa Power to finalise an agreement for the construction of a 1,000 megawatt (MW) solar energy plant, local media reported.

The country, Opec’s second largest oil producer, is engaged in a post-war programme to tackle a persistent power supply deficit.

The plant in the Central Najaf governorate is one of several solar power projects planned by Iraq to produce 12 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from solar plants.

The official Iraqi news agency said Ziad Fadil, the electricity minister, discussed the Najaf project with officials from the Saudi Investment Authority in Baghdad.

“The minister briefed the delegation on an invitation to Acwa Power for the signing of a final agreement to construct and operate a 1,000MW solar power plant in Najaf,” it said.

The report did not provide further details of the project but Fadil said in 2024 that Acwa Power would build the plant as a joint venture with Iraq.

Baghdad has awarded a number of solar power projects to foreign companies, including PowerChina and France’s TotalEnergies.

Officials said in 2024 the projects approved by the cabinet would generate nearly 7.5GW and that more such projects would be offered to attain the 12GW target.

“The National Investment Commission [NIC] is in the process of completing the procedures for granting investment licences for new solar energy projects,” NIC said in early 2024.

Iraq, which sits atop the world’s fifth-largest extractable oil deposits, has also been in negotiations with Abu Dhabi’s Masdar Company for the construction of four solar power units with a combined capacity of 1GW.

According to the Electricity Ministry the projects comprise a 450MW plant in the Southern Dhi Qar governorate, a 350MW plant in the Western Al-Anbar governorate and two facilities in the Northern Nineveh province and Maysan in southeast Iraq with a capacity of 100MW each.

Besides renewable energy, Iraq has also been developing its conventional electricity network, which has been badly damaged by conflict.

A key problem the nation is facing is a persistent shortage of gas needed to run its power stations as a result of repeated disruption of Iranian gas supplies.

This has prompted Baghdad to seek supplies from Turkmenistan and the UAE’s Crescent Petroleum, which operates four gas facilities in Iraq.