Siemens has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Iraqi government to help in the repowering of the country through the addition of 11GW of new power generation capacity over four years.
Image: Siemens office building in Munich-Giesing. (Credit: Rufus46/Wikipedia.org)
Dubbed as “Roadmap for the Electrification of the New Iraq”, the repowering project to be taken up by Siemens is expected to provide round-the-clock reliable and sustainable electricity to 23 million Iraqis. It is also anticipated to increase current power generation capacity in the country by nearly 50%.
Siemens said that the economic viability of the repowering plan is backed by billions of US dollars in potential fuel savings and revenue generation for the Iraqi electricity sector, thereby supporting the development of the country’s future.
The German conglomerate also expects the creation of tens of thousands of jobs for the development of the power-related projects.
As part of the project, Siemens will work on decreasing energy losses, launch of smart grids, strengthening of the transmission grid and modernization of existing power plants. It will also be looking to add new power generation capacities in deprived regions of the country among other initiatives.
The German firm plans to complete the modernization of the Iraqi energy infrastructure in stages, from immediate improvement for up to 300,000 people, which can be operational inside three months, to medium and long-term projects that would need 10-24 months of completion time and beyond.
Siemens will also help the Iraqi government in getting appropriate finance packages from international commercial banks and others.
The roadmap has outlined plans to use the natural resources of Iraq more efficiently by using flare gas capture and treatment technologies to provide a domestic source of fuel to its power generation sector. The plans, if implemented, are also expected to create a long-term revenue source for the Iraqi government to fund power generation, transmission, and distribution projects.
Siemens president and CEO Joe Kaeser said: “Our commitment to the Iraqi people stands strong. We promised them to achieve affordable and reliable power supply, help with anti-corruption, build schools and hospitals and create thousands of jobs.
“Education, training and developing local skills and talent are key elements for us to contribute to building the New Iraq. Today’s agreement on the Siemens roadmap is a significant step towards fulfilling that promise.”