Six Gigawatts in five years: Iraq concludes a deal with Siemens Energy

Shafaq News/ Iraq's government plans to expand its cooperation with Siemens Energy that will commit to developing projects with a capacity of over 6 gigawatts in the next five years.

Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruch signed a memorandum of understanding with Iraqi Electricity Minister Ziyad Ali to provide an additional 11 gigawatts for local power production, a statement from the German Economy Ministry said.

"In the coming years, Iraq will invest considerably in its energy infrastructure," said German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who attended the signing of the MoU in Berlin together with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.

"Siemens Energy will play a key role in in this development," Habeck added.

The planned projects include constructing and developing power generation facilities for both conventional and renewable energy sources, the ministry statement said.

A statement by the office of Iraq's Prime Minister said that the deal also includes devising a long plan to benefit from the associated gas, a by-product of the oil extraction process, and improve the efficiency of the national power grid.

The German company, according to the MoU, will establish solar and wind power plants, and train personnel at the Iraqi ministry of electricity.

"A reliable power supply is the foundation for a stable society. Electrification of large parts of an entire country is therefore one of the most important tasks of our business," Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruch said in a statement to Reuters ahead of the meeting.

He said the company would work to ensure that this was achieved as quickly as possible together with its partners in Iraq.