ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - In a village in southwest Sulaimani province, the majority of homes now rely on solar panels for power and residents are praising the reliable electricity and lower costs.
“The benefit we have gotten from this so far we have not seen from main [government-supplied] power. If it was not for this we would be ruined,” Ghazi Abdullah, a resident of Hazarmerd village, told Rudaw on Wednesday.
Twenty-four of the 29 homes in the village are outfitted with solar panels and villagers say they are able to produce extra electricity that goes into the national grid.
“Throughout the day we can get up to 80 [amperes], but we do not need 80. We need 30 to 35 amperes, the rest is all extra for us. This is very good and benefits the government and we have benefited a lot from it. We have had it for three months. Before, I had 40 amperes from the generator and paid 500 to 450,000 [IQD] a month,” said Hawbir Dilshad, a shopkeeper.
Sirwan Mohammed, head of public relations for Sulaimani’s electricity department, said solar power helps address electricity shortages, especially during peak demand. He encouraged residents who have installed solar systems to register with authorities so any surplus electricity fed into the national grid can be credited to their accounts.
Solar power generation is on the rise in Sulaimani where hundreds of households are using private solar panels.
“Sulaimani is leading the provinces of the Kurdistan Region in electricity production through solar energy, where 740 subscribers are registered and produce electricity from solar energy, in addition to many others who have not registered themselves,” Mohammed told Rudaw earlier in May.
Mohammed said that these 740 users produce 20 megawatts of electricity monthly.
He also announced that in June, the largest solar power station in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region will be opened in the province. The station was built by Delta Cement and will have the capacity to produce 50 megawatts of electricity.
The Iraqi government is encouraging people to go solar as part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address chronic electricity shortages that have long plagued the country, especially during the scorching summer months when temperatures soar above 50 degrees Celsius, driving up power consumption. The Central Bank offers low-interest loans for people and businesses wanting to install solar panels.
Unreliable electricity is a frequent headache in the Kurdistan Region because of issues such as high demand, financial problems, and fuel shortages. Hydroelectric dams also often operate below capacity because of low water levels.
When the national supply cuts out, people rely on private diesel-fueled generators that are costly and polluting. The Kurdistan Regional Government is working to provide round-the-clock power to everyone in the region by the end of 2026 through its Project Runaki.