As hot summer, blackouts loom, Iraq looks to solar power

Article excerpt

Iraq faces a familiar crisis each summer: blackouts that plunge cities into darkness and trigger public anger. Yet the country sits atop one of the world's sunniest regions, making solar power an obvious solution. The Iraqi government has only recently begun investing seriously in solar energy despite decades of summer electricity shortages. The article explores why this renewable resource, abundant, locally available, and increasingly affordable, has taken so long to become a policy priority in a nation where power cuts have become a defining feature of urban life.