1,800 tons of carbon footprint cut by UNDP renewable project in Erbil, says official

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A newly installed solar panel project in the Kurdistan Region’s Erbil province would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 1,800 tons of carbon dioxide annually, a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) official told Kurdistan 24 on Sunday.

The completion of installing the new power system was announced in a ceremony, attended by the Erbil governor and other local officials as well as other officials from the international development agency.

Powered by renewable energy, the electricity generation project provides power to 40 water wells of the rural population in the province. Five other drinking wells are also covered by the power project.

“The significance of the project is very high,” Stephan Schmitt Degenhardt, the head of the UNDP Erbil office, told Kurdistan 24, before explaining the positive environmental impact of the project.

“We reduce the carbon footprint of the Kurdistan of Iraq heavily by 1,800 tons or so per year,” the UNDP official said.

In the absence of the newly inaugurated solar panel project, 60,000 trees would have been needed to absorb the carbon dioxide emitted by the use of the environmentally polluting diesel-based power generation, the international organization’s official noted.

The project is “highly significant” for the environment, the rural development as well as the farmers who are the main beneficiaries, Degenhardt added.

The 2 million US dollars-worth project has been financed by the European Union and implemented by UNDP Iraq.

“Such solar energy solutions are also profitable in Kurdistan, with a payback period of around 7 years if they replace diesel generators," the UN official added. 

Despite the fact the project serves the agricultural sector and citizens, it is also a “climate change adaptation” effort in Kurdistan Region and the world, Governor Omed Khoshnaw said in a speech he delivered on Sunday.

Additional reporting by Renas A. Saeed