Iran has increased its prices for purchasing renewable power from small electricity generators by up to 60% as part of efforts to encourage the development of renewable energy supplies.
Iran’s Energy Ministry announced the new prices on Thursday that covered small-scale solar and wind generators, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
The announcement showed electricity supplied to the Iranian power grid by solar generators that produce less than 20 kilowatts of electricity will increase by 20% to 17,500 rials ($0.05) per kilowatt hour (KWh).
Payments to solar electricity suppliers with 20 kilowatts to 200 kilowatts of capacity will increase by 30% to 16,500 rials ($0.047) per KWh, showed the announcement.
The Energy Ministry said renewables purchasing prices for wind generators with a capacity of less than 250 kilowatts will increase by 60% to 16,600 rials ($0.047) per KWh while small-scale wind generators with production capacities of 250 KWh to 1 megawatts will see their payments rise by 20% to 12,400 rials ($0.035) per KWh.
The new prices come amid efforts by the Iranian government to encourage renewable energy production in a country where a bulk of electricity supplies come from thermal power plants that heavily rely on fossil fuels.
Iran’s Energy Ministry announced in September last year that it had set a target for creating up to 10 gigawatts of new renewable capacity in the country until 2025.