TEHRAN – Solar generation capacity across Iran’s industrial parks has expanded sharply over the past year, rising from 23 megawatts to 400 megawatts as part of a broader plan to supply these zones entirely with renewable electricity, according to the head of the Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization (ISIPO).

Reza Ansari, speaking on the sidelines of the power industry exhibition, said a major national effort to ensure stable energy supply for industrial zones has taken shape over the past year. Solar output in these areas, which stood at about 23 megawatts last year, has now climbed to 400 megawatts, signaling a significant leap in renewable capacity within the country’s industrial network.

He said Iran’s industrial parks and zones currently have a combined 5,100 megawatts of nominal stable power capacity, including small-scale combined heat and power (CHP) systems and solar units. Of this total, about 1,100 megawatts are operational, including roughly 400 megawatts of solar power and around 700 megawatts of CHP.

With electricity demand in industrial parks estimated at nearly 4,000 megawatts, Ansari said the long-term goal is to meet all consumption through solar power.

To support that target, the organization has signed an agreement with the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA) to build 500 megawatts of new solar plants inside or adjacent to industrial towns by the end of the year.

He said pilot projects are underway in three provinces. At Shamsabad Industrial Park, construction of a solar facility has already started, while in Khorasan Razavi, authorities have acquired a 1,000-hectare plot across from the province’s main industrial town to host one of Iran’s largest solar parks.

Ansari said rooftop solar installations for industrial units are also being phased in, alongside plans for a shared solar-energy town.

He said small and medium-sized enterprises lack the financial and institutional resources of large companies, which makes them more vulnerable to outages. Power cuts of two to three days a week raise production costs by around 10 percent, he said, adding that these increases feed directly into consumer inflation. Point-to-point inflation in the food and beverages sector is now above 60 percent, with higher electricity-linked costs acting as a contributing factor.

Ansari said Iran has more than 880 industrial parks and 50,000 active production units, many involved in food and beverage manufacturing. Any disruption to electricity supply in these zones directly affects prices of essential goods, he said, calling for a more protective approach to power management in the sector.

EF/MA