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The Norwegian Scatec company will operate two solar power plants it will build in Iraq for 25 years under an agreement signed in Baghdad last week, the official Iraq Alsabah newspaper reported on Wednesday.
OPEC member Iraq awarded the $500-million contract to a Scatec-led consortium which also comprises Egypt’s Orascom Construction and Iraqi private company Bilal for the construction of the two plants with a combined output capacity of 525 MW.
Alsabah said the two projects are located in the central Babil and Karbala Governorates and are expected to be completed within two years.
“Iraq awarded this contract on an investment basis…the Norwegian company and its partners in the consortium will operate the two plants as an investment for 25 years…the Iraqi government will buy the generated electricity in line with global prices,” the paper said, quoting Electricity Ministry spokesman Ahmed Al-Abadi.
On Wednesday, Iraq and the Abu Dhabi-based Masdar Company signed a one thousand megawatt contract to build five solar power plants in the country while a similar contract was earlier awarded to France’s Total.
Iraq’s Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said on Monday that more projects would be awarded to achieve the country’s solar production target of 10,000 MW by 2030.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
