Italian PV equipment manufacturer Ecoprogetti has supplied and installed the first fully integrated production line for PV solar modules in Iraq.
The turnkey facility has been developed for the project engineering department of the Al-Abbas Holy Shrine, an Iraqi institution responsible for a range of developmental, service, cultural and educational programs. It is located in Karbala, capital of the Karbala governorate in central Iraq.
A spokesperson for Ecoprogetti told pv magazine the production line was fully funded by the Iraqi company using its own funds and resources.
“The installation costs were included in the overall project cost,” the spokesperson said. “Ecoprogetti provided a complete turnkey service, including full installation, commissioning, on-site training and production ramp-up support for the local operator.”
The production line, with an annual capacity exceeding 200 MW, features stringers, robots, laminators, automation and testing equipment. It is designed to manufacture M10-144 TOPCon half-cut PV modules, according to additional details on Ecoprogetti’s website, and is currently capable of producing around 800 modules a day.
The project also features a further expansion phase with plans to take the facility’s capacity up to 600 MW.
Ecoprogetti told pv magazine all of the modules manufacturered on the production line are set for sale within Iraq’s domestic market.
“The modules will be supplied to different projects and market segments, including hospitals, schools, solar parks, and projects intended to provide electricity to the city of Baghdad and other areas of Iraq,” the company said.
The facility was inaugurated in mid June. Speaking during an inauguration ceremony the governor of Karbala, Nassif Jassim Al-Khattabi, said the opening of the factory represents the first step in a larger national renewable energy project in Iraq.
The governor also said the factory is one of the strategic projects of the Holy Abbasid Shrine, aimed at localizing renewable energy technologies and contributing to meeting the needs of the local market.
Iraq’s solar deployment is gaining momentum. A 300 MW solar project is currently under development in Karbala, with the first phase, totaling 22 MW, going live last September. The country’s largest solar project under development, a planned 1 GW in the southeastern governorate of Basra, entered trial operation in March with the switching of 61 MW.
In December, Ecoprogetti delivered its second fully-automated production line in Oman, giving the company a majority share in the country’s module manufacturing market.
Previous articles in pv magazine‘s series on solar manufacturing facilities around the world covered Sunmaxx’s PVT module factory in Germany, SoliTek’s fully-automated line in Lithuania, United Solar’s polysilicon factory in Oman, Belga Solar’s module production facility in Belgium, Midsummer’s CIGS factory in Italy, Tindo Solar’s PV module plant in Australia and Solarge’s module factory in the Netherlands.
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