2 THE POLITICS OF LOW-CARBON ENERGY IN IRAN AND IRAQ
35
Esfahan. 73 Ghadir has also built solar plants at Yazd, Qom and Kerman,
each about 10 MW. 74 Ghadir Energy Investment Company is owned
60% by Ghadir Electricity and Energy Investment Company and 40% by
MAPNA. The ultimate parent, Ghadir Investment Company, has been
identified by the US’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as affiliated with the Execution of Emam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO), also known
as SETAD. 75 MAPNA, meanwhile, listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange,
is mostly involved in building thermal power plants and is also on OFAC’s
list because of its part-ownership by Iranian government entities.
Iraq
Background
Iraq’s power sector has experienced exceptional difficulties over the past
thirty years. The lack of progress on low-carbon energy despite major
resources and desperate need is one small part of an overall damaged
and dysfunctional sector. However, there are also particular reasons why
renewable energy has made less progress than fossil-fuelled power.
Before 1990, Iraq had 10.2 GW of generating capacity, which was
more than adequate to meet demand. 76 The power infrastructure was
significantly damaged and deteriorated during the 1990–1991 Gulf War
and subsequent sanctions up to 2003, then by looting following the USled invasion of that year. After the invasion, power demand has grown
rapidly because of a rising population, reconstruction and the growing
availability of modern appliances, particularly air-conditioning.
The electricity system in Iraq is effectively split in two, with the
autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) operating its own sector.
Both ‘federal’ (non-KRI) Iraq and the KRI have a state-owned sector run
by a ministry of electricity with a monopoly of transmission and distribution. However, most generation in the KRI is via independent power
producers (IPPs) contracted to the ministry, whereas the federal Ministry
of Electricity (MOE) operates most of its own generation, with a limited
use of IPPs, which started to generate in 2017.
Generation rose from 30.7 TWh in 2004 to 131.5 TWh in 2019. 77 Of
this, 2.5 TWh was hydropower, down significantly from the post-invasion
peak of 5.7 TWh in 2004; solar was 0.057 TWh. Of the remainder,
slightly more than half was generated from gas, and the rest from oil
(fuel oil, diesel and limited amounts of crude oil). Despite progress in
35
Esfahan. 73 Ghadir has also built solar plants at Yazd, Qom and Kerman,
each about 10 MW. 74 Ghadir Energy Investment Company is owned
60% by Ghadir Electricity and Energy Investment Company and 40% by
MAPNA. The ultimate parent, Ghadir Investment Company, has been
identified by the US’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as affiliated with the Execution of Emam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO), also known
as SETAD. 75 MAPNA, meanwhile, listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange,
is mostly involved in building thermal power plants and is also on OFAC’s
list because of its part-ownership by Iranian government entities.
Iraq
Background
Iraq’s power sector has experienced exceptional difficulties over the past
thirty years. The lack of progress on low-carbon energy despite major
resources and desperate need is one small part of an overall damaged
and dysfunctional sector. However, there are also particular reasons why
renewable energy has made less progress than fossil-fuelled power.
Before 1990, Iraq had 10.2 GW of generating capacity, which was
more than adequate to meet demand. 76 The power infrastructure was
significantly damaged and deteriorated during the 1990–1991 Gulf War
and subsequent sanctions up to 2003, then by looting following the USled invasion of that year. After the invasion, power demand has grown
rapidly because of a rising population, reconstruction and the growing
availability of modern appliances, particularly air-conditioning.
The electricity system in Iraq is effectively split in two, with the
autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) operating its own sector.
Both ‘federal’ (non-KRI) Iraq and the KRI have a state-owned sector run
by a ministry of electricity with a monopoly of transmission and distribution. However, most generation in the KRI is via independent power
producers (IPPs) contracted to the ministry, whereas the federal Ministry
of Electricity (MOE) operates most of its own generation, with a limited
use of IPPs, which started to generate in 2017.
Generation rose from 30.7 TWh in 2004 to 131.5 TWh in 2019. 77 Of
this, 2.5 TWh was hydropower, down significantly from the post-invasion
peak of 5.7 TWh in 2004; solar was 0.057 TWh. Of the remainder,
slightly more than half was generated from gas, and the rest from oil
(fuel oil, diesel and limited amounts of crude oil). Despite progress in