Iraq is set to open its first industrial-scale solar plant in a vast desert area in Karbala as the government attempts to tackle an electricity crisis that has led to widespread blackouts. com) – The Ministry of Industry and Minerals announced today, Friday (October 24, 2025), the establishment of an integrated factory for manufacturing solar panels in Iraq. The new facility will have an initial annual production capacity of 750 megawatts (MW), which is expected to. The first 250 MW section of a 1-GW solar plant in Iraq is expected to enter operation in the coming days after the facility's transmission network was energised for the first time. Photo credit: Veselina Petrova. Its capacity is expected to reach 75 MW within the next two moves, ahead of a final 300 MW target. Iraq currently produces up to 28,000MW of electricity.