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France’s TotalEnergies is pushing ahead with plans to build a 1,000 megawatt solar power project in Iraq after the project was endorsed by Baghdad last week, according to a statement by the Iraqi Electricity Ministry.
Electricity Minister Ziad Fadil gave the green light for the project in the Southern port of Basra during talks with a TotalEnergies delegation in Baghdad on Monday, it said.
“TotalEnergies will soon embark on a project to build a 1,000 MW solar power park in the Artawi oilfield in Basra…the project is the beginning of a promising partnership between Iraq and the French company,” the statement added.
The solar park project is part of a $27 billion framework agreement signed by Iraq and France in Sept 2021.
It includes three contracts between the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and Totalenergies. The fourth contract is for the solar energy project in Basra.
In April 2023, TotalEnergies had said in a press statement that in agreement with Iraqi authorities, it will invite ACWA Power to develop a 1-gigawatt solar power plant to supply electricity to the Basrah regional grid.
Iraq has plans to build several solar power stations to slash energy imports with the signing of similar agreements with other firms, including Abu Dhabi-based Masdar and ACWA Power of Saudi Arabia.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
