The issue of renewable energies in Iran is a new problem. An organization called “Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA)” has been formed for it. But to what extent has this matter been taken seriously in Iran’s laws? What facilities are being considered for it and is this possibility being addressed in a country that has over 300 days of sunlight in some provinces and is also abundant in windy areas? With this question and also looking at the issue of summer power outages, we went to Mr. Ramazanali Sangdovini, a representative of the Islamic Consultative Assembly from the electoral district of Gorgan and Aqqala in Golestan province and a member of the Energy Commission. He also emphasized the need to use renewable energies, read parts of this year’s budget laws for us, and of course said that more attention should be given to the private sector in this field. This representative of the parliament and former managing director of Golestan Gas Company

The following is a description of the conversation with Ramazanali Sangdehini, a member of the Energy Commission and representative of Golestan province in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, according to your opinion:

من یک دانشجوی روانشناسی هستم

I am a psychology student.

Considering the level of energy consumption in Iran, to what extent is the issue of utilizing renewable energy sources a priority for the Islamic Consultative Assembly and specifically the Energy Commission of this assembly?

Renewable energies have received less attention in Iran. This issue needs attention. In Iran, we can use solar energy for about 280 to 290 days. However, we actually use less of this potential and this is not a good situation. We should use more of this type of energy. If we use more solar, wind, and other renewable energies, our oil and gas resources, which are mostly used in the energy sector, will be less wasted. Our oil and gas resources are used in power plants and other places. Therefore, in my opinion, this issue should be given more attention. In the 1400 budget, special attention has been paid to renewable energies.

Your statement is correct that in Iran, we have approximately 300 days of sunshine and sunlight in a year. In some provinces, this number has even been estimated to be over 300 days. Wind energy is also utilized in places like Manjil and other areas. The question here is whether this issue has been taken into consideration in the next development plan?

The sixth development plan will be completed this year. Given the changes in governments, it seems that it may not be possible to plan for the next development plan. Discussions on the 1401 budget will also begin in the next one to two months. The government must present the 1401 budget and the parliament must allocate at least one to two months for the 1401 budget. Therefore, it seems unlikely that we will be able to have the seventh development plan this year. My suggestion to the Ministry of Energy is to definitely announce their proposals regarding renewable energy in the seventh development plan. My reason for this is that we have a five-year development plan and a one-year budget law. Obviously, with the time frame in the five-year budget law, it will be easier to achieve our goal. We must keep in mind that the use of renewable energy is a time-consuming process.

We currently use solar energy sparingly. We use wind energy in Manjil, Gilan province and in Mil Nader, Sistan and Baluchestan province. In the future, we should make more use of our oil and gas reserves. This means processing them and using their derivatives, rather than directly using them for energy. This is similar to selling raw materials; giving gas directly to power plants to burn and produce electricity. On the other hand, most of our power plants are not combined cycle. This means that practically, about 400 to 500 degrees Celsius of temperature is wasted from the output of power plants that are not combined cycle. This is not a desirable situation and in my opinion, it should be addressed.

This means that a cost-based view of oil can be transformed into an investment-based view with the introduction of renewable energies. Regarding oil, which we know will eventually run out.

Exactly! Let me explain the issue from the perspective of the budget booklet for you. In paragraph “C”, clause six states that “the fees subject to Article 5 of the Law on Protection of the Country’s Electricity Industry, dated 10/8/94, will be determined at 10% of the amount of electricity consumed, up to the ceiling of 34 trillion rials, equivalent to 3,400 billion tomans. Rural and nomadic electricity subscribers and agricultural well electricity are exempt from this clause. The proceeds will be fully deposited, up to the ceiling of 15 trillion rials, into the account of Tavanir Company with the National Treasury, and up to the ceiling of 19 trillion rials into the account of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA) with the National Treasury, to be used for the development and maintenance of rural networks and renewable energy.” This is a very important issue. It means that 19 trillion rials will be

This means that out of this 3,400 billion tomans, 1,500 billion tomans will be spent on electricity for nomads, rural electricity networks, and the development and relocation of rural power lines, and 1,900 billion tomans will be spent on renewable energy and the development of renewable energy technologies and facilities for using wind energy in Mil-e-Nader, Sistan and Baluchestan. I visited Mil-e-Nader. It’s a shame that we are not using this wind as an energy source in that region. This was one of the laws that you saw was allocated in the budget in the parliament in 1400 and has been addressed. The Ministry of Energy should follow up on this issue to fully achieve it.

One of the sources for generating electricity from renewable energies is solar energy. What benefits have been given to these solar power plants in the laws?

It was stated that we will allocate 19 trillion rials to this collection. The country’s electricity industry must definitely support this matter.

In my opinion, when a solar energy system or renewable energy sources are producing, the government should purchase electricity from these systems at the same rate approved by the parliament during times of reduced consumption and shortages. They should support and purchase electricity from them and distribute it to the national grid. Of course, in my opinion, the government also supports this. Bringing up the topic of renewable energy sources means that the private sector can also enter this field. Our industries can also participate in this matter and supply a portion of their electricity from solar energy and benefit from it. As far as I am aware, the Ministry of Energy supports this and needs it. The Minister of Energy announced during the vote of confidence session that we will definitely solve the problem of electricity shortages in the country by next year.

In any case, solar and wind energy make no difference. In the rare Mil-e-Nader region of Sistan and Baluchestan that I mentioned as an example, abundant energy is produced and connected to the national grid. Satba has been contracted there and I believe that part of it has also been put into operation and will be connected to the national grid.

Of course, one of the advantages that has been mentioned is the guaranteed purchase contract for electricity from solar power plants, which includes the entire process from initiation to the development and construction of the power plant. The question here is whether the private sector can also address this issue? How about foreign investment?

When the Ministry of Energy invests in the solar energy sector or renewable energy in general, it must invest 1,900 billion tomans, which can certainly be seen as supporting the private sector. Because the government does not interfere in this matter. Therefore, the Ministry of Energy, as the representative of the government in this sector, has and will support the private sector. Because they need it and must move in this direction. I am also sure that the government will do this. Mr. Mirkhabayan, the Minister of Energy, has also presented good plans in the Energy Commission. Mr. Mirkhabayan had said in his program that in the next 4 years, the country’s electricity production capacity will increase by about 40,000 megawatts. He also said that part of this will be provided by renewable energy sources.

What percentage of it is supplied by renewable energies?

I don’t have the presence of mind right now to tell you the exact number.

Mr. Sangdavini! What you said is about the production sector. In the meantime, are there any incentives for citizens to use solar energy? How does this benefit the Iranian citizens?

Citizens can also go in this direction. We should provide low-interest facilities for citizens to use solar energy. This is also used in some areas. Additionally, this solar energy can be used for heating during the cold season. To help the government and the country, low-interest facilities should be provided to people through banks so they can use solar energy in their homes. This is the best way for people to benefit from this issue.

We can use the electricity we have for industries. We can even encourage and persuade the same industrial sector to use solar energy for themselves. Of course, not everyone can use solar energy because it requires a large surface area to be able to use it.

Last summer, we faced power outages that caused discomfort for the citizens. What was the reason? Some attributed it to bitcoin mining.

The first reason for this was that we did not predict it. Mr. Rouhani announced in the middle of 1399 that, considering the openings we have, we will not have any problems in the energy and electricity sector in 1400. But we saw that this problem actually existed. Of course, part of the problem is also excessive warming and global warming and issues like these. But it is not acceptable at all to have such a situation after 40 or 42 years. Also, we are not using our power plants to their maximum capacity in the country. We took away the capacity of the private sector from them. The demands of the private sector were very high and the government had not fulfilled some of these demands and they were also complaining. Also, the issue of our network’s obsolescence exists. Obsolete networks result in energy loss. But in my opinion, if we use renewable energy sources from this sector and also convert the necessary power plants into combined cycle, we

Our private sector is ready to produce electricity and supply it to the national grid. The private sector also states that it can export electricity and keep the export revenue for itself. They suggest that we charge them for the cost of exporting (export towers), but allow us to keep the profits from the exports. This means that if we allow the private sector to export when we don’t need it, they can become the supplier of the country’s energy shortage.

The former government minister dealt a heavy blow to the private sector. They were responsible for exports and took the money for themselves without paying attention to the private sector. But now Mr. Morabian is looking towards the private sector. If we activate our private sector, we can solve the problem.

Does it mean that you are saying that Bitcoin production has no impact on power outages?

No, Bitcoin and its withdrawal also have an impact. There are some Bitcoins that are licensed. However, in my opinion, even those that are licensed should be put aside when we are faced with electricity shortages in the summer. In addition, we have many cases that are not licensed. Their consumption is also very high and must be managed, controlled, and prevented.

So did Bitcoin mining play a role in the summer power outages?

Yes, it is 100% effective. Power outages in the summer were one of the effects of mining digital currencies.

For years, the issue of nuclear enrichment and energy production has been a topic of discussion. Now, the discussion is focused on renewable energies. We know that nuclear energy is not clean and has its own problems. In your opinion, which direction should the country’s policies lean towards?

In my opinion, we should pursue both types of energy. Both renewable energy and nuclear energy. Currently, the Bushehr power plant is doing this, producing over a thousand megawatts of electricity. In my opinion, we should also take steps towards renewable energy and not rely solely on nuclear power plants. Currently, we have several sources of electricity production. Wind power plants, hydroelectric power plants, dams, and fossil fuel power plants. There is also a section for renewable energy and nuclear energy.

In my opinion, nuclear waste pollution is less than fossil fuel pollution. Many countries use nuclear energy to supply their electricity. This happens in advanced and developed countries.

Currently, a very small percentage of the country’s electricity is supplied through nuclear energy and many experts believe that this amount is not logical compared to the cost of producing nuclear energy.

Yes, that is correct. However, we are at the beginning of the journey. When we can take a path, why don’t we take it? This can help the country. We must use all the capacities that we can produce energy through.

Thank you for the time you have given to the peace line.