Iraq Orders Floating Power Plants to Ease Electricity Crisis
(Bloomberg) -- Iraq ordered two floating power plants from Turkey’s Karpowership to help alleviate a growing electricity crisis.
Karpowership unit BKPS signed a contract with Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity to supply as much as 590 megawatts of power from two vessels to be moored in the southern port of Basra, according to an emailed statement from the Turkish company.
The multi-fuel ships are expected to start operations in August and run for an initial 71-day period, “playing a critical role in stabilizing the national grid and meeting demand,” Karpowership said in the statement.
Iraq suffered near nationwide blackouts last week after temperatures as high as 50C (122F) pushed up demand for air conditioning, the latest episode in a mounting electricity crisis caused by a lack of infrastructure investment, intensifying heat waves and disruptions to gas imports from its neighbor Iran.
Karpowership has a fleet of floating power stations that it deploys to countries that need electricity but don’t have the time or means to build enough permanent onshore capacity. It currently has vessels in countries including Ghana, Gabon and Brazil, according to its website.
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