TotalEnergies has announced plans to develop a 1 GW solar power plant in Iraq to supply electricity to the Basrah regional grid. The project is part of the Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP), which aims to enhance the development of Iraq’s natural resources and improve the country’s electricity supply. The project, located in the Artawi oilfield in Basra, received the go-ahead from Electricity Minister Ziad Fadil during discussions with a TotalEnergies delegation in Baghdad.
The project is part of a larger $27 billion framework agreement between Iraq and France signed in September 2021, which includes three contracts between the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and TotalEnergies, with the fourth contract specifically for the solar energy project in Basra.
In February 2023, Sasol and Air Liquide Big Industries in South Africa signed 260 MW corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) with TotalEnergies. The company would produce renewable energy from a 140 MW wind farm and a 120 MW solar plant that it will build in the Northern Cape province. The Secunda site of Sasol will receive 850 GWh of clean energy per year from these projects.
REGlobal’s Views: Iraq has been making efforts to reduce its energy imports and increase its solar power uptake. The country also has similar agreements in place with companies like ACWA Power and Masdar.
