Iran is building four new solar power plants backed by the National Development Fund alongside a wind farm in Sistan and Baluchestan province, with the first phase expected online by July 2026, ILNA reported on April 1, citing the Ministry of Energy.

Alireza Parandeh-Motlagh, deputy technical director of Iran's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organisation (SATBA), said the solar plants were under construction and would be brought into service "in the shortest possible time."

The wind farm's first phase will install six turbines with a combined capacity of 15 megawatts. Foundations for four turbines are already being laid, with work on two more due to begin shortly. SATBA plans to expand the site to roughly 100 megawatts in later phases.

The renewable energy push comes as Iran's power infrastructure faces sustained damage from US-Israeli air strikes. Power outages have hit Tehran, the surrounding Alborz province and other regions repeatedly since the war began on February 28, with strikes targeting electricity substations and generation facilities.

State broadcaster IRIB reported on March 31 that power had been restored to parts of eastern Tehran after shrapnel damaged an electrical substation overnight.

Iran's existing grid was already under strain before the war, with summer blackouts a recurring problem driven by rising demand, ageing infrastructure and drought reducing hydroelectric output. The conflict has accelerated the need for distributed generation capacity that is less vulnerable to targeted strikes than centralised thermal plants.

The National Development Fund, Iran's sovereign wealth vehicle fed primarily by oil revenues, is financing the solar projects as part of a broader effort to diversify the country's energy mix under difficult fiscal conditions, with crude exports largely shut off by the Strait of Hormuz closure.