Iraq is one of the richest oil countries in the world, and Hydropower remains the only source of Renewable Energy (RE) in Iraq, representing around 4% of the total electricity generated in the country. The power sector witnesses a high degree of state ownership with a relatively small percentage of official private investors’ involvement. As electricity cuts in Iraq can reach in some places 6-13 hours per day, this made some areas of the country highly dependent on unauthorized private diesel generators. Nonetheless, Iraq is currently seeking to tap into its abundant solar energy resources with a promising Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Plan set forth by the Iraqi government.

Due to the difficult situation over the past years, Iraq currently suffers from a relatively high degree of deficiency in covering the electricity demands of its governorates. Iraq also suffers from high Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses. Nonetheless, the country is currently working on several projects to install new generation capacities and to refurbish and maintain various power generation stations, as well as T&D lines. This represents a step forward by the government to rebuild and upgrade the country’s electricity infrastructure.

To achieve the solar plan objective of 2,240 MW of PV technology by 2020, the Ministry of Electricity announced various contracts for PV projects with capabilities ranging from 15 MW to 225 MW. In 2017, various solar PV were in the process of contracting to be constructed. This includes a 225 MW PV plant in the Babylon provenance, as well as 100 MW Alnajaf, 30 MW SAWA-1, 30MW SAWA-2-and 50 MW Alkahder in Almuthana Provenance. Furthermore, the Alramadi 100MW, Faluja 40 MW, Ameryat Alsmood 50MW were also tendered to be constructed in Al Anbar provenance. The total capacity of the solar power plant projects signed was 695 MW until 27 October 2017.

“The above are extracts from RCREEE report to UNDP on RE Context in Iraq. Please refer to RCREEE, 2017 as the reference”

Master Plan”. In general, the plan highlights Iraq’s plans for the development and further expansion of its electricity sector. The master plan also includes improvement strategies for power plants, as well as T&D systems.

In 2016 the Ministry of Electricity announced the PV Solar Plan 2017-2020. According to the PV solar Plan 2017-2020, Iraq has a target of installing 2240 MW solar PV energy by 2020. This indicates the country’s political commitment toward the deployment of RE. Details on the capacity of the projects in each governorate and the annual target are provided by the Table below In 2010, the Ministry of Electricity developed a long-term plan for the electricity sector called “Iraq Electricity

Table 1: Projected Solar PV Capacities In Iraq (Ministry Of Electricity, 2017)

Legal Framework

Investment Law: Some provisions of the Investment Law No. (13), 2006, referred to encouraging investments in RE projects in Iraq. They contain incentives such as; land lease that allows the investor to pay only 2% of the estimated annual lease return, and tax exemptions that extend for the first 10 years of the project’s lifetime. In addition, the law introduces incentives such as duty exemption for imported equipment related to RE projects. Electricity Law

The new Electricity Law was issued in 2017. It encourages the deployment and investment in RE in Iraq.

In 2017, Iraq cabinet directed the public buildings to coordinate with the Ministry of Industry, and Alzaoraa General Company to install solar PV systems to cover all or at least a reasonable portion of their electricity demand (General secretariat for the Council of Ministers, 2017).

Land Lease: Articles 8 and 9 of Regulation No. 7 of 2010 explain the leasing process. According to this regulation, the land is provided to the investor for a nominal rent equal to 2% of the estimated annual lease return. This is subject to the geographical location, where the project is to be constructed as prices vary from one location to another. Energy transfer costs and security costs tend to be less in remote areas or areas that are near power transmission lines

The Free Zones Law No. 3 of 1998 established the General Commission for Free Zones under the MoF.59, three free zones areas are defined (1) Nineveh, (2) Khor Al-Zubair/ Basrah and (3) Al-Qa’im/Anbar. Under the free zones law all the capital invested, the generated income, the interest, and all the imported and exported goods are exempted from taxes and fees through the whole lifetime of the project, including the construction and startup phase. The foreign wages are also exempted from taxes and allowed to be transferred outside the country while Iraqi workers having 50% from their wages to be exempted from income taxes.

Incentives

Iraq not only provides an ideal geographical location for investment in solar energy but has also provided various incentives to encourage private investment in its RE sector.

The National Investment Law No. 13 of 2006 created the National Investment Commission (NIC) and Provincial Investment Commissions (PICs), in order to attract private investments including the power sector.

Companies investing in RE equipment have been exempted from both operational and income taxes. For RE projects, the land is leased at a rate of 2% of the estimated annual lease return.

Iraq also initiated a bidding process for private investors interested in investing in solar or wind projects and allowed also direct proposals, if they comply with bid terms and conditions.

Despite these considerable efforts and the national commitment to diversify energy resources, Iraq is still in the process of further reforms of its energy subsidy structure, as it is one of the lowest electricity prices in the world.

The country also needs to restructure its regulatory and institutional framework to further develop the national energy market, promote RE investment and decrease risks to attract further investors.

Access To Land

According to the Ministry of Electricity (MoE) in Iraq, 18 sites have been allocated to build solar PV projects. In general, the lands dedicated to solar plants are rented at 2% of their estimated annual rent. The cost of rent varies according to the location of the lands. It is typical to plan future solar plants near substation transformers or transmission lines in order to lower the cost of interconnection and to reduce security issues.

“The above are extracts from RCREEE report to UNDP on RE Context in Iraq. Please refer to RCREEE as the reference”

Solar Resource And Atlas

GLOSSARY

• DEM: Digital Elevation Model
• DNI: Direct Normal Irradiation (direct irradiation in a plane tracking the sun position)
• GHI: Global Horizontal Irradiation
• GIS: Geographical Information System
• GlobCover: http://due.esrin.esa.int/page_globcover.php
• HelioClim-3v5: satellite based solar irradiation database; www.soda-pro.com
• MSG: Meteosat Second Generation geostationary satellite
• OSM: Open Street Map; https://www.openstreetmap.org/
• QGIS: Quantum GIS free software
• SRTM: NASA Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission 90 m resolution DEM; http://srtm.csi.cgiar.org/Index.asp

Methodology - Introduction

For the project “Catalyzing the use of solar photovoltaic energy in Iraq” funded by UNEP and managed by RCREEE, Transvalor S.A. has created a QGIS ready solar atlas for Iraq country.

This solar atlas uses different data sources and methodologies.

For the solar irradiation, we have used Mines ParisTech/Armines/Transvalor solar irradiation database HelioClim-3v5. All technical information on this database is available on the SoDa web site here:
http://www.soda-pro.com/help/helioclim/helioclim-3-overview

This database is using the MSG satellite images to derive a “cloud index” during the day. The original resolution of the satellite image pixels is about 5 km x 6 km over Iraq. Images are available every 15 minutes during daytime. The database covers the period February 2004 up to the current day. The HelioClim-3 database delivers values for the GHI and DNI solar radiation components. In order to “enhance” the resolution of the solar data, we have oversampled the solar data to a 1 km x 1 km resolution, using an altitude correction between the MSG pixel mean altitude and the 1 km mean altitude. The 90 m resolution SRTM DEM data is the data source for the altitude values. In addition to this altitude correction, we have also computed the influence of the shadowing affects from the local horizon for each 1 km pixel and for all radiation components.

In addition to the solar radiation components and the SRTM DEM data, the solar atlas contains other information:

• Land cover type from the GlobCover to be able to select only bare or semi desert locations and avoid agriculture or urban zones and all types of protected zones
• Utilities source point and electric lines to locate a PV power plant not too far from a connection point; we have extracted this information from the OSM data and as such, it is not complete and should be improved using data from the Iraq administration
• Roads to locate a PV power plant in a serviceable location
• Slope derived from the SRTM data to exclude zones which are too steep

Transvalor S.A. has animated a workshop in Amman (Jordan) to present how to use the solar irradiation data from the atlas in conjunction with the other information to estimate the solar potential at any location in Iraq by computing a ranking map. We have used the QGIS software to perform this estimation. The workshop Power Point support document explains all the steps to follow to be able to perform such an analysis.

Global Horizontal Irradiation annual mean map

Direct Normal Irradiation annual mean map

Ancillary maps (GlobCover, SRTM, utilities)

Capacity Development

Capacity Development Workshop On Policy Options And Incentives For Renewable Energy Development In Iraq.

BAGHDAD, IRAQ 2 OCTOBER 2017

The Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE) in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity organized a one days training course on 2nd October 2017, in Al-Rasheed Hotel, Baghdad, Iraq for experts from Iraq.

Through four sessions including a set of lectures and moderated discussions, this training workshop focused on best practices at the regional and international level related to renewable energy policies including legal frameworks for renewable energy development, power purchase contracts, feed-in tariff, net metering scheme and economical evaluation for PV projects.

The objectives of the training workshop were to:

• Introduce the project “Catalyzing the Use of Solar Photovoltaic Energy in Iraq” and present its objectives, structure and content.
• Introduce the project “Catalyzing the Use of Solar Photovoltaic Energy in Iraq” and present its objectives, structure and content.
• In-depth understanding of renewable energy policies and regulatory framework.
• Identify pricing and contracting mechanisms for renewable energy projects.

Capacity Development Program On Required Policy Reforms, Infrastructure And Framework To Promote Solar Power Technology In Iraq.

AMMAN, JORDAN 5-9 JANUARY 2018

The Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE) in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in Jordan organized a five days training course from 5h to 9th January 2018, in Kempinski Hotel Amman, Jordan for experts from Iraq.

The workshop is entitled “Capacity Development Program on Required Policy Reforms, Infrastructure and Framework to Promote Solar Power Technology in Iraq”. It aims to build technical know-how and knowledge base to help promoting sustainable development of solar power and to catalyze private sector investments in PV power technology in Iraq.

The program included 4 capacity development and consultation workshops that cover the following topics as well as a site visit to a PV power plant in Jordan.

• • FIT and net metering schemes for developing solar photovoltaic energy in Iraq.
• • Solar PV code and grid integration requirements.
• • Resource assessment, Iraq Solar Map Atlas, PV technologies and financial calculation for concrete PV projects.
• • RE action plan and strategy in Jordan

The course include basis on how to develop required infrastructure and framework to encourage solar Independent Power Producers (Regulation and legislation, PV code and Grid integration, administrative procedures and contracts, financial incentives, etc.).

Furthermore, participants learned how to assess solar resources and use Iraqi Solar Atlas, calculate cost effectiveness of PV technologies and execute the input-output model sheet and sensitivity analysis for possible FIT and net metering scenarios as well as financial calculation of RE project.

Events

RCREEE Expert Mission To Iraq

30 SEPTEMBER 2017– 6 OCTOBER 2017

RCREEE in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Iraq Ministry of Electricity (MoE) organized a mission to Baghdad, Iraq within the activities of the project “Catalyzing the Use of Solar Photovoltaic Energy”

RCREEE delegation convened meetings with government officials in Iraq, United Nation Development Program (UNDP), and private investors. In addition, a capacity development workshop was organized focusing on policy options and incentives for renewable energy development in Iraq.

The mission targeted getting deeper insights on the Iraq energy context. It also aimed to build the capacity of the national stakeholders on the policy options and incentives to promote renewable energy. Accordingly, the mission included:

1. Fact finding and first hand exposure to Iraqi RE context through meeting main national partners, stakeholders and decision makers in Iraq.
2. Meeting UNDP team to assess the project progress, and presenting of preliminary results for benchmarking reports.
3. Holding a capacity development workshop on policy options and incentives for renewable energy development in Iraq.

Knowledge Exchange Mission In Developing Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Energy Between Republic Of Iraq And Arab Republic Of Egypt

3 – 8 DECEMBER 2017, CAIRO, EGYPT

In Cooperation Framework of Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE) in Cairo with Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy (MoERE), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Iraqi Ministry of Electricity (MoE) through Implementing Project “Catalyzing the Use of Solar Photovoltaic Energy in Iraq”.

The mission included 4 days, convened meetings with government officials in Egypt, private investors, and site visit to a PV power plant in Egypt.

Catalyzing the Use of Solar Photovoltaic Energy in Iraq

In light of Iraq’s great solar potential, RCREEE and UNDP have joined forces to support the Iraq efforts in energy transition and climate change mitigation through an agreement on the implementation of “Catalyzing the use of solar photovoltaic energy in Iraq” project.

Solar PV is considered as the most suitable solution to guarantee grid security and stability and to overcome energy challenges in Iraq. The project focus on promoting PV as an opportunity to create new energy market and to promote the integration of private sector in the solar power field.

The agreement, originally signed in 2017 and extended in 2019, allowed RCREEE to undertake a number of activities covering:

• Development of regulations and laws allowing generation and sale of power by IPPs.
• Development and implementation of a grid code for distribution and transmission (for small- scale distributed generation and larger utility-scale generation).
• Design and implementation of a process for IPPs to engage in standardized PPAs with the Ministry of Electricity, to acquire generation licenses and to inter-connect with the grid.
• Implementation of phased fiscal incentives for PV uptake, including partial removal of import taxes on solar panels.
• Design of a feed-in tariff for renewable energy IPPs with appropriate pricing calibration, geographical zoning and regression schedule.
• Evaluation of net-metering options for industrial and residential applications.
• Support to implementation of the feed-in tariff and/or net-metering scheme.
• Development of a renewable energy database (solar map) containing site-specific data on RE potential to facilitate investment decisions.
• Development of a database of solar market participants.
• Development of a programme to support IPPs.
• Development of training materials and academic and vocational certification schemes in conjunction with national institutions for modular solar energy training courses.
• Set up awareness and knowledge programs tailored to potential new entrants into the renewable power market to inform them of the emerging legal/regulatory framework to be developed and the opportunities arising from solar energy, for both small- and large-scale installations.
• Remove barriers to direct private-sector engagement in the solar power industry in Iraq through increasing their understanding of the sector and enhancing their expertise in addition to developing the local capacities

Main Outcomes

• 20 detailed studies and reports
• 8 events including 3 training courses and 5 workshops dedicated to representatives of key stakeholders involved in energy sector in Iraq from public, private and educational sectors as well as 8 event reports
• 2 Excel tools for Net metering and FIT design with model user guides.
• Solar Map Atlas and zoning maps
• Solar PV Market place and dedicated website.
• Three ToT training courses.
• Five regional and national workshops including key energy sector actors in Iraq.