UK solar firm stops $570m Iran project due to US sanctions

16 August 2018
British energy investor had been developing $570m solar project

UK energy investment firm Quercus has stopped construction work on a 600MW solar plant in Iran, citing US sanctions on Tehran as the reason for abandoning the scheme.

“Following US sanctions on Iran, we have decided to cease all activities in the country, including our 600MW project. We will continue to monitor the situation closely,” Diego Biasi, Quercus CEO, said in an email to media on 14 August.

Quercus becomes the latest of a number of European firms to cease work and investment in Iran following the US’ re-imposition of wide-reaching sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

MEED recently reported that German trucks manufacturer Daimler had suspended its activities in Iran and German technology company Siemens, which signed deals in the gas and rail sectors in 2016, has said it could not take new business or orders in Iran as it intended to “respect export regulations, including US sanctions.”

The halting of the Quercus solar project will hamper Iran’s ambitious plans to integrate renewable energy into its power sector as it seeks to diversify fuels in the power sector and boost energy security. Tehran had set a target for renewable energy to account for 5 per cent of total power production by 2020.

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