Iran’s electricity interconnection with Turkey is ready to go: Iran has constructed and successfully tested energy transmissions lines and facilities needed to export 400 MW of electricity — including energy generated by renewables — to Turkey, IRNA reported, citing comments made by Iran’s Minister of Energy Ali Akbar Mehrabian on the sidelines of Iran's Renewable Energies Exhibition. The new connection will also make it possible for Iran to export energy to the EU via Turkey.

Turkey and the EU are already connected: The Turkey-EU interconnection has been in operation since January 2016 after their state-owned transmission companies signed an agreement together the year before, according to an EU report (pdf). While the EU currently has three electricity interconnections with Turkey via Bul­garia and Greece, the bloc is looking to ramp up its interconnection capacity as it works on diversifying its energy sources away from Russian natural gas imports, the German Institute for International and Security Affairs said. Renewable energy imports (including hydrogen) from neighboring countries will be essential for this process given the EU’s ambi­tious production target, the institute added.

Eyeing an expansion: Iraq’s interconnection project with Turkey was completed in April, but the project is yet to be launched, pending an approval for the tariffs on transporting energy through the interconnection by Iraq’s Electricity Ministry.

Iran has been stepping up its renewables game: In October,Iran started construction on a EUR 60 mn, 100 MW solar power plant for the Chadormalu mine in Yazd. Early last year, Iran's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (Satba) announced earlier this year plans to re-tender 2.2 GW of solar projects, aiming to have one solar farm in each province. It also announced a 1 GW solar farm in Qazvin.

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