Commissioning of solar park scheduled for late November
First project realised by ABO Wind’s Tehran office
(Wiesbaden/Tehran, November 16th 2017) Construction of ABO Wind’s first Iranian solar park has started in Saidabad, Semnan province, in northern Iran. More than 4,100 photovoltaic modules and 18 inverters have recently arrived at the construction site. The solar park with a capacity of 1.3 megawatts peak will go online at the end of November. "We are well on schedule with our first Iranian project," says Florian Lüders, ABO Wind’s head of project development in new markets.
ABO Wind was one of the first European companies to open an office in Tehran in early 2016 following the lifting of international sanctions. Currently, there are ten Iranian colleagues working there. "We know what matters when applying for licenses and permits," says Lüders. "In addition, the solar park in Saidabad gives us important insight into the construction process in Iran. We are now well equipped for implementing larger wind and solar projects in the near future.”
ABO Wind combines expertise in planning, financing and construction of international renewable energy projects with a deep understanding of the regulatory framework and cultural practices in Iran. This unique combination puts the German-based company in a great position to implement further projects in Iran. ABO Wind is currently working on several Iranian wind and solar parks, some of which are expected to be realised in the near future.
"Iran offers excellent conditions for renewables. There is a lot of wind, the sun shines frequently, there are large potential areas and a state-guaranteed feed-in tariff fixed for 20 years," says Lüders. Nevertheless, financing remains difficult in the long-isolated country. Therefore, the first project in Iran was initially funded by equity capital. The newly formed company “ABO Pionier AG” will be the operator of the solar park. The company’s objective is to operate renewable energy projects in new markets with no established renewable energy sector or in countries with higher political risks. Investors will be given the opportunity to participate in ABO Pionier once the first projects start operations. ABO Wind founded the now independent ABO Invest AG seven years ago in the same manner. ABO Invest currently operates a portfolio of wind farms amounting to around 130 megawatts in established European markets.
