Iraq builds 1GW photovoltaic power generation project

    According to media reports, after the Iraqi Ministry of Petroleum announced the signing of a preliminary agreement with the French Ministry of Solar Home Power Electricity, France-based global oil and gas company Total SE will establish 1GW of solar photovoltaic power generation capacity in Iraq.

    The capacity of solar power plants is one of four energy projects that Iraq hopes Total will help build, and the remaining three are related to the construction of oil and gas infrastructure. Since October 2020, discussions on these projects (estimated valued at US$7 billion) have been ongoing.

    According to local media reports, the agreement was signed during a visit by Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne. The Iraqi Council of Ministers will make a final decision on these projects without revealing more details.

    Iraq is seeking to use solar photovoltaic technology as the core of its plan to expand its renewable energy production capacity. In its February 2021 report, Bloomberg referred to Iraq’s Oil Minister Ihssan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail’s statement that the country’s solar photovoltaic goal is to reach 10 gigawatts by 2030. However, the International Energy Agency (IEA) believes that the country has the potential to have 21 GW of solar photovoltaic power generation capacity by 2030.

    For Total, this solar investment in Iraq (which may involve more regions) is part of the group's strategy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. It also plans to change its name from Total SE to TotalEnergies to reflect its ambitions for sustainable development.

    In other parts of the Middle East, Total is building an 800 MW Al Kharsaah solar photovoltaic IPP project in Doha, Qatar with Japan’s Marubeni Corporation.