Iraq outdoor energy storage program bidding

Should Iraq invest in renewables?

Integrating renewables requires a large investment in grids, and Iraq’s transmission and distribution networks are already dilapidated, with electricity dues largely uncollected, giving rise to technical and commercial losses that exceed 50% of generated power. Adding intermittent solar generation will be a novel challenge.

Does Iraq have an integrated national energy strategy?

Since 2012, Iraq had added one-in-every five barrels of global incremental oil supplies, but has failed to implement its own Integrated National Energy Strategy first by disintegrating gas and oil development and second by missing on gas-to-power synergies.

Did Iraq's power purchase agreements meet nonrecourse financing requirements?

Iraq’s offered power purchase agreements did not immediately meet the nonrecourse syndicated finance requirements of multilateral lenders and banks. Iraq’s failure to pass a federal budget in 2022 meant that no sovereign payment guarantees could be issued to provide assurance of Baghdad’s ability to pay for produced power.

How has war affected Iraq's power infrastructure?

Despite the extraordinary challenges of war in recent years, Iraq has made impressive gains, nearly doubling the country’s oil production over the past decade. But the turmoil has also undermined the country’s ability to maintain and invest in its power infrastructure.

What projects are being developed in Iraq?

The approved projects include: a 1 GW plant in Basra to be developed by TotalEnergies as part of a $27 billion megadeal; a two-stage 750-megawatt plant in Muthanna province to be delivered by Chinese state firm PowerChina; and two projects, at a combined 525-megawatts, to be developed through a consortium led by Iraq’s Al-Bilal Group.

Why did Masdar delay launching a solar project in Iraq?

The ambiguity of legal and financing terms pushed Emirati renewables developer Masdar, which agreed to develop solar projects with a total of 1 GW of capacity at five sites in Iraq, to delay its entry, preferring to sign a “ legal advisory agreement ” as negotiations continue. Other firms chose to de-risk their projects differently.