Is solar energy a viable option in Iran?

The potential for PV is extremely high in Iran, mainly due to having about 300 clear sky sunny days per year on two-thirds of its land area and an average 2200 kWh solar radiation per square meter (Najafi et al. 2015).

How many MW of solar power does Iran have?

However, 27 MW of installed wind power capacity was added to the system in 2014 (Farfan and Breyer 2017). Solar power generation has seen high growth in recent years, mainly through photovoltaics (PV) and followed by concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) plants in Iran.

Why does Iran have a low storage capacity?

In terms of storage, the low installed capacities can be explained by the fact that Iran has a high availability of RE sources, particularly wind energy, solar PV and hydropower, which can produce electricity all-year-round (Fig. 6). The total storage capacities soar from 9.7 TWh in the country-wide scenario to 110.9 TWh in the integrated scenario.

Are wind turbines profitable in Iran?

Besides, the installation of wind turbines in windy regions of the country, constructing wind farms, and distributed small-scale and centralized PV plants are already profitable in numerous regions in Iran (Ghobadian et al. 2009; Alamdari et al. 2012; Aguilar et al. 2015).

Will solar PV self-consumption prosumers increase electricity demand by 2030?

The electricity demand projection growth by the year 2030 is estimated based on the IEA (2015) assumptions. Solar PV self-consumption prosumers have a modest impact on the residual load demand in the energy system as illustrated in Fig. 4 (right).

Why does Iran have a low lcow?

This reduces the LCOW by increasing the FLH. In terms of storage, the low installed capacities can be explained by the fact that Iran has a high availability of RE sources, particularly wind energy, solar PV and hydropower, which can produce electricity all-year-round (Fig. 6).