The Silver Bear Cafe

Iraq has two ingredients necessary for a thriving solar industry: expansive deserts on which to set up solar panels, and a high number of sunlight hours.

But Iraq is also OPEC’s second-largest oil producer. Worldometer ranks the country sixth in the world, producing 4.443 million barrels of oil a day. In terms of oil reserves, Iraq is fifth globally, with 143.069 billion barrels, accounting for 8.67% of world supply. At current consumption levels, Iraq has enough oil to last the next 457 years.

This hasn’t stopped the country from installing the first phase Sunday, Sept. 21, of the 300-megawatt Karbala solar power plant. The solar park has reportedly started producing 22MW of electricity, to be increased to 75MW after two months.

According to local media, the Karbala project features more than 39,000 solar panels in the first stage, spanning some 400 hectares in the al-Hur area of Karbala, located southwest of Baghdad.

Once fully completed, it will expand to 525MW across Karbala and Babil, significantly enhancing grid stability while reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

Another project under construction in Babil province will have a capacity of 225 megawatts, and work will also begin soon on a 1,000-megawatt project in the southern province of Basra, Al Jazeera said.

If Iraq is such a powerhouse in oil and gas, why does it need solar? The country has long struggled with power shortages, including blackouts, rooted in war, corruption and mismanagement, meaning it relies heavily on fossil fuels, especially natural gas, for electricity generation.

Nationwide electricity consumption peaked at about 55,000 megawatts this summer as scorching temperatures exceeded 50 degrees Celsius in some areas, Al Jazeera reported.

Iraq now produces up to 28,000 megawatts of electricity, including about 8,000MW fueled by natural gas imported from Iran.

However, these critical supplies from Iran have faced challenges over the years due to sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States over its nuclear program. In March, Al Jazeera said Washington announced it was ending a sanctions waiver that allowed Iraq to directly purchase electricity from Iran. The US, for no,w has left another waiver in place that lets Iraq buy Iranian natural gas to feed its power plants.

The problem is that Iran is also facing energy shortages. In December 2024 Al Jazeera reported Tens of millions of people across Iran are facing major disruptions as authorities shut down services in the face of an exacerbating energy and currency crisis amid historic regional tensions.

This week, government offices, schools, banks and businesses in major provinces and in the capital Tehran have been largely closed due to worsening fuel and power shortages as temperatures dropped to subzero levels.

Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi said that 13 power plants are out of commission due to a lack of fuel.

A background paper titled, ‘Solar energy in Iraq: potential and new technologies’ says the solar energy density in Iraq is one of the highest in the world, as it is located near the equator. The country receives between 2,800 and 3,000 hours of sunlight per year.

Also, Iraq has a huge amount of unused solar resources. The paper says the direct normal irradiation per day for Iraq is 5.25-7.85 kWh/m2. In some parts of the country, the irradiation level exceeds 1,900 kWh/m2. In the deserts of Iraq, the average solar density is 3,140-3,373 MJ/m2. Desert areas cover about 220,000 km2.

Moreover, in Iraq, the lifetime cost of solar energy, even considering the cost of solar panels, is lower than fossil fuel power generation.

With over two decades of journalistic experience working in newspapers, trade publications and as a mining reporter, Andrew Topf is a seasoned writer specializing in natural resource commodities. Andrew also has expertise in the oilfield services and heavy construction industries.