Iran plans $12bn tenders for green investments

According to Hamid Chitchian, the Iranian Energy Minister, the country has plans to launch energy tender processes to attract about US$12 billion of investment in utility scale renewable energy projects. The minister stated:

“We’re not going to use the money from oil in that sector at all. All the investment will be done by the private sector, including local and foreign companies.”

The country aims to add 5 GW of new renewable energy capacity in the next five years and an additional 2.5 GW by 2030. To be more specific, the country would tender about 1GW of wind, 3 GW of solar and 1 GW of biomass and geothermal power.

According to sources, Mr Chitchian added in an interview with Asia House, that Iran was looking for about US$30 billion in foreign investment in the electricity sector over the next five years. Additionally, the country aims to attract US$12 billion in investment in water and wastewater services.

Iran currently produces 75 GW of electric power per year and is scheduled to add about 50 GW of new capacity during the next 10 years. Additionally it supplies 80 percent of its power from natural gas and aims to raise that number to 90 percent by the end of 2017. Most of the country's power plants are over 40 years old and they need to be upgraded.

This plans to attract foreign investments comes after Iran re-opened to investors following last year’s nuclear deal, which was reached  between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the P5+1 (the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council–the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, and China plus Germany), plus the European Union.