October 14, 2016
A Swiss company says it has signed a 750-million-euro ($840 million) deal with Iran to build a giant wind farm in the country’s mountainous north. But Iranian officials later denied signing any such deal.
That was a strange turn of events. Often Iran announces a deal and Europeans then say they haven’t signed anything and are just discussing a deal with Iran. But for Iran to deny any deal raises many unanswered questions.
The project would have an installed capacity of 270 megawatts, Meci Group International Chairman Jeremiah Josey told Bloomberg last month. He said turbine testing is already underway onsite.
Josey said the project is being carried out under a five-year purchase agreement with Iran’s Energy Ministry. He expected the contract would be extended “once we prove ourselves.”
Meci said it would finance the project with a bond issue and equity partners. That means it would bring a huge volume of foreign investment into Iran—just what Iran most wants.
According to Josey, Meci has a target to install 1,000 megawatts of clean power of solar and wind mix in Iran. “There is so much growth to be had. They can get through at least 20 years of technological catch-up in five years,” he said.
Officials say some 4,500 megawatts of additional power has to be produced a year to meet rising demand in the country. Iran currently has the installed capacity to produce 75,000 megawatts of electricity, but it plans to raise this to more than 120,000 MW within the next 10 years.
Only 1,000 MW of installed capacity is currently nuclear and, in 10 years, if all goes according to plan, another 1,000 MW will be nuclear.