Iran is negotiating with several Chinese companies to develop solar power plants and battery energy storage systems as part of its efforts to boost renewable capacity.

Mohammad Allahdad, deputy for transmission and foreign trade at the Iran Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution Company (Tavanir), made the announcement on September 12, according to the Tehran Times.

“With Iran moving toward expanding solar power plants, given the country’s high number of sunny days, we must use storage systems to increase efficiency,” he said, adding that “solar plants can only generate during the day, but with these systems, their electricity can be used at night.”

Allahdad highlighted Iran’s talks with two major Chinese companies active in solar energy, noting that China operates the world’s largest fleet of solar power plants, many of which are paired with storage systems.

He explained that Chinese firms, with experience in pumped-storage hydropower and previous partnerships with Iran on dam construction, are discussing new collaborations. These talks would involve joint solar development and the transfer of technical expertise on storage systems to Iranian companies.

According to Allahdad, such cooperation would both advance Iran’s solar expansion plans and help localize storage technology.

In late August, Gholamreza Heshmati, CEO of Bushehr Provincial Electricity Distribution Company, announced the start of construction on a 200 MW solar power plant. The project involves an investment of more than $70 million from China, in collaboration with the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA).

He said that “this important project is expected to enter the country’s national electricity grid before next summer.”

Meanwhile, Abbas Aliabadi, director of the engineering office of the Iranian Water and Power Resources Development Management Company, said in early July that by March 2026 about 3,800 megawatts will be added to the country’s renewable power plant capacity.

“In the previous period, as a result of previous years, the capacity of our renewable power plants was about 1,200 megawatts, which has now exceeded 2,000 megawatts, which is a significant figure. God willing, by the end of this month, this number will reach about 3,000 megawatts, and by the end of the government, the goal is for this figure to reach 30,000 megawatts,” he added.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), rapid growth in solar and wind generation pushed renewables beyond 4,000 terawatt-hours in 2024. Output is projected to exceed 6,000 TWh by 2026. Renewables are expected to supply more than 90% of the increase in global electricity demand through 2026, supported by rising hydropower production.

The IEA also forecast electricity demand growth of 3.3% in 2025 and 3.7% in 2026, outpacing the 2015–2023 average. Growth will be driven by industrial consumption, higher household appliance use, growing reliance on air conditioning, electrification of heating and transport, and the expansion of data centers.

On September 9, Iran’s Minister of Energy, Abbas Aliabadi, announced that the country would install 7 gigawatts of new solar by the end of the year. He added that Iran is currently installing 100 megawatts of new solar capacity each week, which would yield about 5 gigawatts annually.

At present, Iran generates about 94 gigawatts of electricity annually from gas, petroleum, hydroelectric, and nuclear plants. Approximately 80% of its power plants, however, run on fossil gas. So far this year, Iran has added 4 gigawatts of gas-fired electricity generation capacity.