"Athos Solar installs two utility-scale PV plants in Iran"

Germany-based firm Athos Solar has installed two utility-scale solar PV plants near Iran’s capital Tehran.

The projects have a combined capacity of 14MW and are located over 10 hectares each in the province of Hamedan. They include 40,000 modules from China-based manufacturer Canadian Solar.

The venture required investment of nearly €20 million (US$21 million), with 100% equity coming from Athos Solar.

Christian Linder, CEO of Athos Solar, said this is the only way that projects can be financed in Iran at present, while claiming that financing via banks is not yet possible.

Linder added: “These are the first large-scale solar systems to be built in Iran after the sanctions were lifted in spring 2016. The joint project initiated two business partners from Iran and England, who also developed the project rights and sold them to the newly-founded joint holding company...

The plants were completed within nine months of first contact with the Iranian developer and Athos Solar now plans further projects in Iran and the Middle East.