TEHRAN – Three national organizations have signed an agreement with the aim of expanding the use of renewable energy in schools across the country.

The Organization for Development, Renovation, and Equipment of Schools, the School-Building Donors Association, and the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization, known as SATBA, signed the agreement in Tehran on Saturday, ISNA reported.

Some 50,000 schools are ready to be provided with solar and wind energy, the report added.

The head of SATBA has said his organization plans to establish at least one solar park in each province in collaboration with Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization (ISIPO).

Mahmoud Kamani said the necessary permits have been issued by the government for some of these parks and the primary works have started on one of them in Qazvin Province, IRIB reported.

Last month, the SATBA head announced the construction of 110,000 solar power plants with a capacity of five kilowatts (KW) for low-income groups in the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 21.

Kamani also announced that the tender for the construction of solar power plants with a capacity of 2,200 megawatts, left over from the plan for the construction of solar power plants with 4,000 megawatts capacity in the past year, will be also held this year.

Regarding the follow-up of the construction of renewable power plants in the new year, the official said that a plan for the construction of renewable power plants was announced by the minister of energy at the beginning of the 13th government, and in 1401 (past Iranian year), the necessary preparations for the implementation of this plan have been followed up and some measures have been taken in this due.

In early February, the official announced that the capacity of Iran's renewable power plants reached 1,020 megawatts (MW) with the 10-MW Pasargad Solar Farm of Damghan coming into operation.

Making the remarks on the sidelines of inaugurating the mentioned solar farms in Damghan County, in central Semnan province, Kamani said: “This power plant has a special feature as it can generate electricity from the reflection of sunlight. This feature makes its generation efficiency higher, which means it will have a 40-percent increase in efficiency”.

“It is hoped that by setting up other renewable power plants, we will soon be able to implement the 10,000-MW renewable power plant program”, the head of SATBA stated.

Renewables, including hydropower, account for nearly seven percent of the country’s total energy generation, versus natural gas’ 90 percent share.

In January, the first national event of future schools was held with the aim of promoting the use of knowledge-based technologies in schools.

The event highlighted the role of technology in modernizing schools as well as educational and sports spaces.

The Majlis (Iranian Parliament) has approved a special budget to support building schools nationwide.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Education should spend one percent of the revenues of state-run companies and the net profits of banks and private institutions to build schools in deprived areas in line with the goal of promoting educational justice.

Half of the schools across Iran are built with the participation of benefactors, Mohammad Reza Jafari, CEO of the School-Building Donors Association, has said.

About 40,000 donors are active and involved in building schools across the country, he stated, adding, over 49 percent of schools, amounting to 150,000 classrooms, in the country are built with the participation of school-building benefactors.

Construction of sports spaces, libraries, and developing smart schools are among the current needs in school construction, he further highlighted.

School building benefactors have allotted a total of 34 trillion rials (nearly $70 million) to construct educational spaces across the country over the [Iranian calendar] year 1400 (March 2021-March 2022), ISNA reported.

According to Nasser Ghofli, the director of the Association, 400 school-building charities have been registered in the country so far.

MG