Iraq has its sights set on a 1 GW solar energy farm

A 1 GW solar plant in Iraq is set “to be contracted” soon, Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani said, according to the Iraqi News Agency. The price tag and timeframe have not been disclosed.

Could it be the French-backed project? The country’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani signed an agreement with French president Emmanuel Macron during a bilateral meeting in January for the development of a solar energy facility that would generate 1 GW of electricity once operational. The targeted completion date of the project has not been disclosed yet, but we do know it would be jointly owned by the Iraqi government and France’s TotalEnergies. Qatari oil company Qatar Energy is reportedly looking to acquire a 20 -25% share in the project.

Iraq has an ambitious solar strategy: Iraq wants to produce 5 GW of solar power in 2023, and the country has inked agreements over the past two years with several companies worth a total generation capacity of 7.5 GW.

ALSO- Iraq plans to plant some 5 mn trees to combat climate-driven desertification in the water-scarce country, Bloomberg reports. Need a refresher on Iraq’s water woes? We’ve got you covered here and here.