Iran has connected a 72-megawatt (MW) solar farm to its national grid in the northeastern city of Esfarayen, the largest solar facility in North Khorasan province, state media reported on August 26.

The plant, covering 121 hectares and generating about 145,000 megawatt-hours of electricity a year, forms part of a renewables drive with which Iran is trying to close a chronic power deficit that has forced electricity cuts on industry and, increasingly, households, and that officials had warned could reach 14,000 MW at peak summer demand. Its operation is expected to save 39mn cubic metres of natural gas and 32,000 cubic metres of water a year.

The facility will cut greenhouse gas emissions by 101,000 tonnes annually, equivalent to the emissions from 41,000 cars. Around 90% of Iran's electricity comes from gas-fired and thermal plants, leaving fossil fuels central to its power generation.

The country is also rushing to connect large-scale solar projects in its attempt to offset widespread brownouts from rising population demand and depleting hydropower, which has seen a drop as part of the national grid, with the second-largest dam in Mashhad going offline on August 25. 

The solar park is expected to help support the local grid during peak summer demand and, amid a forecast gas shortfall this winter, provide additional power to the region during colder months.

Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi, speaking at the opening, said more than 10,000 MW of the government's pledged power-generation projects had been delivered, with more than 101,000 MW of new capacity committed before the incumbent government's term ends in August 2028. "Iran is among the world's top five countries in power-generation technology," Aliabadi said.

The plant comes online as Iran presses its renewable-energy push to tackle electricity shortages that have been compounded by wartime damage to power infrastructure. A 95-MW solar facility near Tehran was launched on August 25, taking clean-power capacity to 5,500 MW.

Iran's total power-generation capacity has surpassed 100,000 MW, but renewables account for only about 5.5%. The government plans to raise renewable capacity to 30,000 MW over the next two years as it seeks to address a persistent shortfall.