Iraq has unveiled a 20-year plan to add 57GW of new power capacity in partnership with Germany’s Siemens Energy and US-based GE Vernova.

The programme aims to expand the electricity sector through new gas-fired plants, renewable energy schemes and long-term maintenance plans for existing plants.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani announced the plan on 19 November as he launched a project to build the 1,400MW Al-Youssifiyah thermal power plant under a build-own-operate (BOO) model.

Located about 30 kilometres from Baghdad, there have been previous attempts to restore the Al-Youssifiyah plant, which has been stalled since it was destroyed during the Gulf War.

In 2015, the project was cancelled amid civil unrest in the region.

No official timeline was given for the latest “implementation phase” of the project.

In a statement, however, the prime minister said the country will move towards an alternative financial model for electricity investments.

“We have adopted an investment financial model that addresses the injustices of previous phase contracts to provide an attractive environment for investment,” he said.

“We have worked to reduce the tariff rate and provide up to a 43% [reduction] from previous contracts while preserving public funds,” he added.

These savings refer to reduced generation costs under a model supported by long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs).

Al-Sudani has also directed the ministry to calculate the actual cost of producing electricity and recover it through improved billing and collection.

Iraq’s government has also set a target of adding more than 7GW of solar capacity by 2030 to reduce reliance on oil- and gas-fired generation. The country continues to face chronic electricity shortages, especially during the summer months, as it aims to meet 24-hour demand.

In August, the government approved five major power generation projects, with a combined capacity exceeding 10,000MW.

The projects include three major independent power producer (IPP) combined-cycle plants at Al-Faw, Abu Ghraib and Kirkuk, totalling 7,500MW.

The Iraqi cabinet also approved the development of two thermal power plants, one in Najaf and the other in Youssifiyah, with output capacities of 1,500MW and 1,800MW, respectively.

Furthermore, in September, Iraq started power generation at its first utility-scale solar plant.

The first phase of the 300MW Karbala solar power plant has started generating 22MW, with plans to increase to the full capacity of 300MW by the end of the year.