ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraq’s electricity ministry on Thursday announced the launch of the country's largest solar project yet in the southern province of Basra, as the government continues efforts to ensure continuous power provision and achieve self-sufficiency.

The project, named “Shams al-Basra,” Arabic for the Sun of Basra, consists of four generating units, made up of two million panels, extending across an estimated area of 9,000 dunams, according to a statement from the Ministry of Electricity.

The station is set to “produce 1,000 megawatts of clean electricity, at a rate of 250 megawatts per unit,” the statement added.

Iraqi Electricity Minister Ziad Ali Fadhil revealed last month that the country is planning to work with international companies to produce 35,000 megawatts of power, a project that could potentially catapult Iraq out of energy shortage issues that have plagued the country’s power grid for decades.

The ministry has also announced plans to address chronic bottlenecks in electricity production by expanding transmission lines, commissioning new transformer stations, and pursuing regional energy interconnection projects.

Iraq has intensified its efforts to move toward a more sustainable and viable energy solution to cut down on the need to import gas and electricity from Tehran, which account for between 30 to 40 percent of its energy needs. These imports are especially crucial during the summer months, when temperatures can reach 50 degrees celsius and energy demand peaks.

Previous US administrations have repeatedly renewed a waiver permitting Iraq to purchase Iranian electricity, as the country continues to struggle with providing power to its people.

A National Security Presidential Memorandum by US President Donald Trump to impose further sanctions on Iran in early February said that the Secretary of State shall “modify or rescind sanctions waivers, particularly those that provide Iran any degree of economic or financial relief.”