Iraq to boost the national power grid with five new thermal plants

Shafaq News/ Iraq plans to build five new thermal power plants to add 10,000 megawatts to its electricity grid, the Ministry of Electricity said on Saturday.

The new plants will be closed-cycle, meaning they can operate on various fuels, according to ministry spokesman Ahmad Musa. He did not specify the locations of the planned plants.

"The ministry is determined to diversify energy sources," Musa said, adding that it is also developing projects for solar, wind, and waste-to-energy power generation.

Iraq has a wide gap between electricity consumption and supply. Peak demand in the summer, when people turn on air conditioners due to high temperatures, is about 21 GW, far exceeding the 13 GW the grid currently provides, experts say.

Despite its massive oil reserves, Iraq relies on electricity and natural gas imports for power generation from Iran to meet 40 percent of its energy needs.

However, Iraq faces difficulties paying for these imports due to US sanctions that only allow Iran to receive US dollar payments to purchase non-sanctioned goods such as food and medicine.