Procurement, Delivery, Installation, Testing and Commissioning of Hybrid Solar PV Systems for Dairy Centers across Iraq

Iraq's power system has long been dominated by natural gas and oil-fired generation, and supply reliability is constrained during summer peaks by fuel availability and emissions limits. The Ministry of Electricity's low-carbon energy roadmap targets raising the share of clean energy to approximately 25% of total generation by 2030. The IRENA Energy Transition Assessment for Iraq, published in July 2025, records Iraq's plan to install 12,000 MW of solar PV by 2030, of which 7,500 MW has already been awarded.

Beyond utility-scale plants, Iraq has also promoted distributed solar. In 2022 the Central Bank of Iraq announced approximately USD 750 million in subsidised loans to encourage individuals and private companies to install smaller-scale solar systems. The IEA National Climate Resilience Assessment for Iraq identifies prioritising distributed generation, together with islanding capability in parts of the grid, as a key measure for strengthening the climate resilience of Iraq's electricity system.

Dairy centers are food-processing facilities whose refrigeration, pasteurisation and milking equipment depend heavily on continuous power; they have largely relied on diesel generators, with high fuel costs and emissions. This project supplies hybrid solar PV systems to dairy centers, reducing diesel consumption through the complementary operation of PV generation, energy storage and the existing diesel generation. As the specialised agency of the United Nations system responsible for food and agriculture, FAO promotes such improvements to the energy supply of agri-food value chain facilities under its related projects.