Bakhtar Regional Electricity Company, a subsidiary of Iran Power Generation and Transmission Company (TAVANIR), has signed a $1m contract with Britain’s Surrey Satellite Technology (SST) company to build a 50 MW capacity solar power plant, Iran’s first ever electricity deal with Britain, to be delivered by September 2016, reported the Financial Tribune. SST will design, manufacture, install, and operate the power plant. The terms of the contract stipulate that most of the equipment for constructing the plant will come from domestic sources.

The agreement comes in the wake of the final removal of sanctions on Iran. Tehran is now seeking to bring in foreign investment and technology to help the country meet its 10-year target of rising total power generation capacity to more than 125,000 MW both from renewables and conventional sources of energy.

Iran is targeting the renewables sector, as only 2% of country’s current power generation comes from green energy sources. TAVANIR’s Managing Director, Farhad Shabihi, said that similar agreements were in the offing for renewable power plants to be built in the western and central provinces of Markazi, Lorestan, and Hamedan, in total capacity of 600 MW, informed Mehr News Agency. There is already another Hamedan project for a small 14 MW solar power plant to be launched soon.