German Firm to Fund Khuzestan Wind Farm

EghtesadOnline: Iran issued the much-needed investment license for a joint venture to build a wind farm in Arvand Free Trade Zone, which will be financed by the German company eab New Energy GmbH, managing director of Khuzestan Regional Electricity Company said.

News ID: ۷۷۸۱۹۸

06 August 2017

"The German firm will invest $82 million to undertake the project with the help of its Iranian partner, Tose'eh Zist Arvand Investment Company," Mahmoud Dashtbozorg was also quoted as saying by ILNA on Friday.

Pointing to plans for attracting foreign investments to build renewable power plants in Khuzestan, Dashtbozorg said, "Tose'eh investment company attracted $300 million in the fiscal 2015-16 to develop power generation initiatives in the province, including both combined-cycle and renewables power plants."

According to the official, the $82 million investment is part of a plan that calls for attracting $775 million international funding by the end of the current Iranian year in March 2018, Financial Tribune reported.

Arvand Free Zone is a 155-square-kilometer industrial area that surrounds Khorramshahr, Abadan and Minoo Island along the Arvandroud waterway in southern Khuzestan Province. AFTZ is the only free zone in the country divided into industrial, tourism and trading areas. Half of the zone is reserved for commercial and transit activities.

"The first phase of the project, with an electricity production capacity of 50 megawatts, is expected to be completed in two years," Dashtbozorg said, adding that the German company will install several wind turbines in the region each with a power production capacity of 3-4 megawatts.

"The purchase of generated electricity will be guaranteed by Khuzestan Regional Electricity Company on behalf of the Energy Ministry," he added.

Eab is an international service provider and contractor for wind farms, solar installations and other projects using renewable resources. It has implemented renewable projects worldwide with a total output capacity of 660 MW.

Iran's installed power production capacity is more than 76,000 MW, but output from renewables hardly reaches 420 MW.

According to published reports, the country plans to raise the capacity by 1,000 MW in 2018.