Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy developer Masdar has started a project to deploy 1 GW of solar power capacity in four Iraqi provinces, the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity said on Sunday.

Ahmed Moussa, a spokesman for the ministry, told the Iraqi news agency on Sunday that a legal consultation agreement for the massive programme was signed last week, setting the stage for the launch of the work. As part of the project, Masdar will build two solar parks of 100 MW each in Mesan and Nineve provinces, a 450 MW solar power plant in Zigar and a fourth in Anbar A solar power plant with a capacity of 350 MW.

Musa noted that the government is seeking to diversify power generation in the four provinces and will be able to lower electricity prices after negotiations. The spokesman added that the construction site for the solar power plant has been selected in coordination with the provincial authorities, and Masdar has started a topographical study of the land to assess the environmental impact of the project. The 1-GW deal with Masdar was one of three solar projects the Iraqi government agreed with international companies last year, with a combined capacity of 2.75 GW.

Two other agreements include a deal with TotalEnergies SE (EPA:TTE) to deploy a 1-GWp solar power plant and 750 MW of solar power capacity by Chinese state-owned conglomerate Power China. As Kamal Hussein Latif, head of the Iraqi Radioactive Source Control Commission, said in late April, the three projects are expected to be operational by 2025, despite obstacles related to grid connection.