The British Photovoltaic Association (BPVA) has reached an agreement with the government to construct a 1,000 megawatts (MW) solar plant in Iran at an investment of €1.5-billion ($1.65 billion), said a report.

Besides setting up the plant, the agreement also involves establishment of a factory at the value of €25 million ($27.6 million) to build solar panels and transferring technological know-how to the Iran, reported Tehran Times, citing BPVA chairman Reza Sheibani.

“Construction of the solar plant will be financed by attraction of foreign financial resources and investments, while the solar panel factory, with the capacity of 500 MW per annum, will be built via cooperating with Iranian companies,” stated Sheibani.

BPVA, the national trade association of the UK solar photovoltaic industry, is a strong political and commercial organization.

Iran, which sits on the world’s largest natural gas reserve and also holds the fourth place globally in terms of oil reserves, is also showing interest in renewable energy resources to improve energy security, reduce internal dependence on hydrocarbons, and meet its projected growth in electricity demand, the report added.