(Bloomberg) -- QatarEnergy has agreed to join TotalEnergies SE in a project to build a very large solar farm in southern Iraq, where the two energy companies already cooperate on a gas venture.
Subject to regulatory approval, QatarEnergy firm will buy a 50% stake in the project, which will construct a facility with a production capacity of as much as 1.25 gigawatts, the Middle Eastern energy company said in a statement on Monday.
French oil major TotalEnergies will retain a 50% interest in the photovoltaic farm, which will be one of the largest in the world, according to QatarEnergy. It will be developed in phases that will come online between 2025 and 2027, and will have the capacity to provide electricity to about 350,000 homes in the Basra region.
Solar production can help curb Iraq’s reliance on gas for power generation. At the same time, Iraq’s state-owned Basra Oil Company, QatarEnergy and TotalEnergies are developing a project to capture gas from three oil fields, which would otherwise be burned off, and use it to supply power plants. That would help Iraq reduce its dependence on imports of the fuel from Iran.
When detailing the gas project last year, the French company said it would invite Saudi utility Acwa Power Co. to join the solar project.
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