Iraq is preparing to inaugurate its first industrial-scale solar power plant in Karbala as part of broader efforts to tackle a chronic electricity shortage that has led to repeated nationwide blackouts, Al Jazeera reported.
According to Iraqi media cited by Al Jazeera, the facility—set to open on Sunday—will be the country’s largest solar power plant and is expected to eventually produce up to 300 megawatts of electricity at peak capacity.
The plant is located on approximately 4,000 dunams (1,000 acres or 400 hectares) in the al-Hur desert region of Karbala, southwest of Baghdad. The site features tens of thousands of solar panels arranged in systematic rows.
Nasser Karim al-Sudani, head of the national solar energy team in the Iraqi prime minister’s office, said additional projects are already in the pipeline. A second solar plant under construction in Babil province is expected to generate 225 megawatts, while a much larger 1,000-megawatt project is planned for the southern province of Basra.
“These initiatives are part of a broader vision to meet a portion of Iraq’s energy needs through large-scale solar power, easing the strain on the national grid while also reducing harmful gas emissions,” Al Jazeera quoted officials as saying.
Deputy Minister of Electricity Adel Karim stated that Iraq currently has solar energy projects with a combined capacity of 12,500 megawatts in various stages of development—from implementation and approval to negotiation. Excluding the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, these projects could potentially supply up to 20 percent of Iraq’s total electricity demand, he added.
Despite its abundant oil and gas reserves, Iraq has faced persistent electricity shortages for decades, driven by years of conflict, widespread corruption, and poor infrastructure management. This summer, national power consumption surged to nearly 55,000 megawatts, while temperatures in parts of the country exceeded 50 degrees Celsius (122°F), Al Jazeera reported.
In contrast, Iraq currently produces around 28,000 megawatts of electricity, with nearly 8,000 megawatts sourced from Iranian natural gas used in domestic power plants. However, these imports have frequently been disrupted—partly due to U.S. sanctions on Tehran. In March, Washington revoked a sanctions waiver that had allowed Iraq to purchase electricity directly from Iran, although another waiver remains in place for natural gas imports.
Iran’s own worsening energy shortages have further hampered its ability to supply Iraq, exacerbating the latter’s power crisis, according to Al Jazeera.
