Iraq, UAE sign offer on 5 solar electrical power plants

• Power-short Iraq tattooed an agreement on Wednesday for the UAE to build five solar electrical energy plants with an overall capability of 1,000 megawatts (MW).

Head of state Mustafa al-Kadhemi presided over the signing in Baghdad with renewable resource company Masdar, which is based in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates funding.

Iraq is rich in oil however its dilapidated grid battles day-to-day power outages.

Iraqi authorities intend to sign a number of comparable accords by 2023 to add 7,500 MW to its grid, an elderly oil as well as energy ministry official told AFP.

Last month, Iraq signed a multi-billion-dollar contract with France's TotalEnergies on projects including the building and construction of a 1,000-MW solar plant to provide the southerly region of Basra.

Iraq is the second-largest manufacturer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and also crude represent greater than 90 percent of Baghdad's profits.

But the nation deals with an extreme power dilemma as well as chronic power cuts that feed social discontent.

Years of conflict, poor maintenance and rampant corruption have actually battered Iraq's energy sector.

It currently creates 16,000 megawatts of electricity, far short of the estimated 24,000-MW demands of its fast-growing populace which the UN says is expected to double by 2050.

Iraq has expanded dependent on gas and electricity imports from neighbouring Iran, under exceptions to US sanctions on Tehran.