Iraq connects to Turkey’s power grid: Iraq has begun operating a 300 MW, 115 km electricity line with Turkey as part of its efforts to import energy — including renewables — and diversify its energy mix, Asharq Business reports, citing comments made by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani. The new link, inaugurated at the Al-Kisk station west of Mosul, will supply the northern provinces of Nineveh, Salahuddin, and Kirkuk. The initial agreement to build the interconnection with Turkey was first signed in 2004.

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background and outside sources.)

Turkey has a lot of renewable energy it can export to Iraq: Solar EPC company Asunim inked an agreement with Derbent Enerji — a subsidiary of Turkey's Akfen Renewable Energy — for the development of a 40 MW hybrid solar power project in Turkey last April. Turkey’s Fiba Yenilenebilir Enerji is among Turkey’s leading five wind-power producers with 553 MW of installed capacity. Its total assets also include solar power plants with a capacity of 28 MW worth USD 1.31 bn as of December 2021.

Iraq isn’t stopping there: Electrical connections with Gulf countries will also be completed this year, creating a regional electricity network extending to Europe, Al Sudani added. The energy exchange platform for the USD 220 mn GCC-Iraq transmission grid was inaugurated last year, and is expected to help transmission through the line reach 2 TW in the summer and 0.5 TW in the winter once the project is launched. Revenues from the electricity trades are expected to reach USD 200-300 mn annually. Iraq also greenlit a separate 1 GW power interconnection line between Iraq and Saudi Arabia back in May.

REMEMBER- Stronger interconnections = faster green transition: Given that the interconnection project will be used to export electricity to Iraq, including electricity generated by renewable energy, it will reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and facilitate clean power exports to other countries in the region and beyond, thus providing higher interconnectivity and integrability of renewables into the GCC grids. Renewables trading is likely to increase as countries move closer to reaching their emission targets.

All part of plans to connect MENA’s power grid to the EU: Iraq is among the MENA countries identified by the EU as a suitable partner to help them diversify their energy mix away from Russian imports due to the country's high potential for solar and hydrogen energy production, as well as their geographical proximity.

Iraq has been upping its renewables portfolio: Iraq’s Supreme Committee for Reconstruction and Investment approved the development of a solar power plant — possibly TotalEnergies’s solar initiative — in the Babylon governorate, last month. Iraq’s first waste-to-energy project has received 15 bids from local and international companies to design, build, own, and operate the facility, which will have the capacity to process 3k tons of waste daily. It is expected to be completed within the next two years under a public-private partnership.

Tags: