Team reviewing a wind turbine model on a blueprint

Renewable Energy and Water in Iraq

Iraq holds some of the largest oil reserves on earth — and a power supply that does not meet its own demand. It is known as the land between two rivers — and is living through its worst drought in nearly a century. Both contradictions share a root: infrastructure and resource management that have not kept pace.

Key figures

22,000 MW

installed generation capacity — against 50,000–55,000 MW summer peak demand

Source: Iraqi Ministry of Electricity, June 2026

33 %

targeted renewable share of the electricity mix by 2030

Source: Integrated National Energy Strategy / Enerdata

< 35 %

of Iraq’s notional water share from the Tigris and Euphrates reaches the country

Source: Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources

1.5 million ha

of farmland abandoned — around 40 % of cultivable land

Source: Fanack Water, 2026

The starting point

Power. Installed generation capacity stood at around 22,000 megawatts in mid-2026, while summer peak demand is estimated at 50,000 to 55,000 megawatts. The shortfall produces scheduled outages nationwide. (Source: Iraqi Ministry of Electricity, June 2026) The government’s target is a 33 percent renewable share of the electricity mix by 2030. (Source: Enerdata / Integrated National Energy Strategy)

Water. Iraqi authorities report that the country receives less than 35 percent of the share of the Tigris and Euphrates it would be due. Reservoirs reached their lowest recorded levels in the history of the Iraqi state in 2025. Iraq is warming at nearly twice the global average. Around 1.5 million hectares of farmland — roughly 40 percent of cultivable land — have been lost to salinisation and waterlogging. (Sources: Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources; NASA Earth Observatory, 2026; Fanack Water)

An aging electrical transformer substation surrounded by a fence in a residential area of Iraq

These are not statistics. They mean rural depopulation, failed harvests, and households buying water they once drew — and every one of those outcomes can be shifted.

Our approach

Germany has been through an energy transition that is watched internationally — for its successes and for its mistakes. Both are transferable knowledge. We do not see our role as building plants. We see it as moving knowledge and experience to where decisions are made.

We plan and deliver awareness campaigns, expert symposia and workshops in Iraq on renewable energy and resource-efficient water management. Symposia in particular, because these subjects require reaching the decision-making level: ministries, municipalities, utilities and agricultural associations.