The Deputy Minister of Electricity and Energy recently stated that the country's electricity industry needs 4.2 billion dollars in foreign currency every year. This amount averages about 11.5 million dollars per day and is related to the procurement of equipment, parts, and technical services from abroad. He urged officials to pay special attention to securing foreign currency for this infrastructure sector.
Increasing the Capacity of Solar Power Plants
The Deputy Minister also announced that the target for increasing the capacity of solar power plants to 12,000 megawatts by the peak consumption next year has been set. Peak consumption refers to the maximum electricity load in a year, which usually occurs during hot summer days. In other words, the goal of 12,000 megawatts means that solar capacity should reach this level by then. For comparison, every 1,000 megawatts is approximately equivalent to the capacity of a large power plant.
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Consequences of Securing Foreign Currency
With the increase in solar capacity, part of the required electricity will be produced without fuel, which can help reduce dependence on fossil fuels. However, published data does not indicate what portion of the 4.2 billion dollars is allocated to solar power plants. Additionally, the current solar capacity is not mentioned in these statements, making it difficult to calculate the distance to the goal.
The Deputy Minister's statements are essentially a request for securing foreign currency and do not represent a final decision regarding its allocation. The source of the currency and its calculation rate are also not clearly specified. Therefore, following up on this matter depends on clarifying the mechanism for securing foreign currency and the progress of solar projects by the peak consumption next year.
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