On the desert photovoltaic construction site 70 kilometers east of Basra, the power indicator lights of the second unit were lit up one by one, and the Latavi 1GW photovoltaic project constructed by China Energy Alliance successfully completed the Unit 2 reverse power transmission node. As of October 2026, the total scale of photovoltaic construction in Iraq has exceeded 2.3 gigawatts, and the local centralized new energy construction is entering a critical cycle of rapid phased implementation.

Unit 2 reverse power transmission node successfully landed

On October 9, 2026 local time, Unit 2 of the Latavi 1GW photovoltaic project successfully switched power once, and the system operated stably throughout the entire process. All equipment parameters met the design standards, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent full capacity grid connected power generation of Unit 2. The project team has previously completed the special scheme review and full process technical disclosure, completed multiple rounds of verification on equipment wiring, relay protection settings, and system configuration, fully implemented safety control requirements, and ensured zero errors in the reverse power transmission process.

As the largest photovoltaic power generation project currently under construction in Iraq, the Latavi Photovoltaic Power Station is also the country's first large-scale centralized photovoltaic project, with a total capacity of 1 gigawatt on the AC side. Nearly 2 million solar panels are planned to be laid in a desert area of about 9 square kilometers, divided into four 250 megawatt units to be constructed in stages. The project had already achieved full capacity grid connection of Unit 1 in March 2026, and reached an important milestone of accumulating 5 million safe working hours in September. The on-site construction pace has remained stable.

Rolling development in stages to advance overall goals

The project is owned by Total Energy and belongs to the core new energy sector under the framework of the Iraq Natural Gas Growth Integrated Project with a total amount of 27 billion US dollars, with a separate investment of approximately 820 million US dollars. Affected by the phased rolling development mode of international projects, sufficient lead time needs to be reserved for equipment procurement, cross-border logistics approval, and construction resource allocation. Currently, Unit 3 is advancing pre construction preparation work, while Unit 4 is in the early preparation stage. The overall grid connection rhythm conforms to the conventional promotion rules of large-scale international energy projects.

After the project is fully completed and put into operation, it is expected to output approximately 2.9 billion kilowatt hours of clean electricity annually, meeting the daily electricity needs of about 350000 Iraqi households. The annual reduction of carbon dioxide emissions is about 2.385 million tons, which will significantly alleviate the summer electricity gap in southern Iraq and provide core support for the low-carbon transformation of the local energy structure. Keywords: New Energy News, Photovoltaic

The photovoltaic panel array in the desert is gradually extending into the depths of the desert, and a continuous stream of clean electricity will be fed into the Basra power grid, injecting new impetus into local electricity consumption and industrial development.Editor/Cheng Liting