Iran is seeking to fast-track solar energy projects in an effort to ease biting electricity shortages because of crumbling infrastructure and years of US sanctions.
Tehran is hoping that more solar capacity could ease an energy crisis that forced it to renew rolling blackouts this year, as it faced critical fuel shortages despite having the world’s third-largest oil reserves and second-largest natural gas reserves.
“Renewable energy development has evolved from a supportive policy to a strategic necessity,” Mohsen Tarztalab, the deputy energy minister, told a conference on solar energy in Tehran last week. “Expanding clean energy is central to achieving energy security and reducing Iran’s reliance on fossil fuels.”