Rooftop Solar Panels Underpin Household Income in S. Khorasan

EghtesadOnline: Households in some deprived regions in South Khorasan Province that have built solar panels on their rooftops are earning almost $75 per month, the head of the provincial Regional Electricity Company said.

News ID: ۷۴۶۴۵۱

09 January 2019

"Close to 155 families have rooftop solar panels producing 5 kilowatts on average," Mohammad Ibrahim Shoraka said, IRIB reported Tuesday.

Each photovoltaic panel with one kilowatt capacity can generate 200 kW of power in 30 days. The state-owned Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization, aka Satba, buys each kilowatt of electricity for 8 cents, meaning households selling one kilowatt can earn $16 per month.

"Most rooftop installations have 5-kW panels, which produce 1000 kW a month," he said, adding that 5-kW panels make a minimum of 75$ per month, Financial Tribune reported.

Shoraka said installing a 1-kW panel costs $700, thus households need $3,500 for panels with five kilowatt capacity.

"Homes in small towns wanting to set up a rooftop station are eligible for up to $3,000 in loan from the National Development Fund of Iran that has allocated $750 million to expand solar farms and rooftop power stations, namely in Tabas county, South Khorasan Province," he added.

According to head of Satba, Seyed Mohammad Sadeqzadeh, the government is determined to develop renewable energy in the underprivileged and remote areas.

Expanding solar farms and rooftop photovoltaic power stations will help not only reduce consumption of fossil fuels but also curb environmental pollutants

The Energy Ministry and private companies are building 50 big and 2,000 small solar power plants across the country.

Expanding solar farms and rooftop photovoltaic power stations will help not only reduce consumption of fossil fuels but also curb environmental pollutants.

It will help create jobs, especially in rural areas, where people are migrating in unusually big numbers due to the water crisis and worsening economic conditions.

With more than 300 sunny days in a year, Iran has huge potential to expand solar farms and attract investments.

Wind, solar, hydropower, waste heat recovery and biomass plants account for 45%, 35%, 16%, 2% and 2% of the total renewable electricity respectively.

Iran is overly dependent on thermal power and renewables account for only 670 MW of the total annual output of 82,000 MW.