Iraq’s Electricity Ministry and JICA weigh financing for residential solar

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity convened bilateral discussions on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to expand technical and financial cooperation across national solar energy initiatives. The talks centered on the ministry’s strategic renewable roadmap, including grid-connection protocols, while the Japanese agency signaled concrete intentions to conduct a comprehensive feasibility assessment aimed at financing residential solar installations across Iraqi households. According to a ministerial statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), the working session was chaired by Hussein Mohammed Badr, Director General of the Ministry’s Planning and Studies Department, alongside Murtadha Hussein Mahdi, Director of the Renewable Energy Center, and senior departmental deputies. Talks addressed the operational implementation pipeline for utility-scale solar projects, alongside institutional contracting frameworks and regulatory standards governing distributed solar integration into the national electricity grid. During the proceedings, JICA representatives expressed the agency’s interest in financing and executing key solar ventures currently listed within the ministry’s capital investment portfolio. The Japanese development body confirmed its intent to conduct a targeted study evaluating viable financing mechanisms for rooftop residential solar photovoltaic systems, modeling the program after the Central Bank of Iraq’s green energy lending initiative to alleviate capital constraints for domestic homeowners. The Ministry of Electricity highlighted that expanding international development partnerships of this caliber accelerates the adoption of clean energy, hedges against peak load deficits on the national power transmission grid, and provides decentralized power solutions capable of directly meeting citizens’ daily residential electricity requirements.