According to Jiandao.com, the Iraqi cabinet on September 1, 2021 approved the Ministry of Electricity’s plan to build a 7.5GW solar power project in Iraq. Iraq has stated that by 2025, it will grant 10-12GW of solar power projects to seek to generate up to 25% of the electricity demand from solar power.

The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity signed a contract with the State Power Construction Corporation of China (China Power) on August 25, 2021 to build the first solar power plant with an installed capacity of 2GW. After increasing pressure from the United States to relax relations with Tehran, Iraq has been exploring ways to reduce its dependence on energy imports.

The U.S. State Department again approved sanctions exemptions in early August 2021, allowing Iraq to import Iranian electricity before the end of 2021 because Iraq is struggling with frequent power outages and lack of domestic power generation capacity. The cabinet today also approved the transfer of all unused funds from the National Electricity and Energy Import Fund, estimated at 300 million U.S. dollars, to make up part of the deficit in fuel procurement allocation. The Cabinet said in a statement that Prime Minister Mustafa Kadimi today called for the launch of a fund for future generations.

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The Iraqi Prime Minister’s adviser, Mazar Saleh, previously stated that Iraq is working to establish a fund to help the economy get rid of its dependence on oil, which will be funded through budget surpluses. The meeting also approved the Iraqi Industrial Bank to increase its capital by 150 billion Iraqi dinars (103 million U.S. dollars).Editor/XuNing