Sulaymaniyah sees surge in solar adoption as over 700 households install systems in two months

SULAYMANIYAH – The Sulaymaniyah Electricity Directorate announced that more than 700 households in the governorate have installed solar power systems over the past two months, signaling growing interest in renewable energy solutions.

According to the directorate’s renewable energy department, 713 new households connected solar systems during the period, bringing the total number of solar-equipped homes in Sulaymaniyah to 1,746 as of Sept. 30. The combined production capacity of these installations stands at 26.244 megawatts.

The directorate said the rate of adoption is steadily rising, with further growth anticipated in the coming months as more residents seek alternatives to conventional power sources.

The uptick in installations comes amid broader efforts by the Kurdistan Regional Government to promote renewable energy through policies such as net-metering, which allows users to feed excess electricity generated by their systems back into the public grid in exchange for credits on their utility bills.

Officials say the net-metering policy is a key part of the region’s strategy to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and encourage decentralized power generation.

The expansion of renewable energy has also been supported by the Runaki electricity modernization project, which has increased access to 24-hour power for more than 2 million people across the Kurdistan Region, including in Sulaymaniyah.