Isra-Mart srl:Gamesa secures contract to build Syria's first wind farm

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Isra-Mart srl news:

Spain's Gamesa has been awarded a contract to build Syria's first wind farm, while Germany's Sunset Energietechnik GmbH has won a contract to build a 1MW solar PV plant in the country, according to Bloomberg.

Syria's National Energy Research Centre, the division of the energy ministry responsible for renewables, chose Gamesa from five bidders to build its proposed 50MW, €60m (£50m) wind farm.

The facility will be located southwest of the central city of Homs and has already been hailed as a prime example of Syria's attempts to attract foreign investment and diversify its state-dominated economy.

The International Monetary Fund has urged Syria to speed up its transition to a market-based economy while reducing its dependence on the oil industry.

The project got the go-ahead after Syria's president Bashar al-Assad passed legislation in November last year enabling foreign and local private investors to generate and distribute electricity.

The country generates a modest amount of hydro power, but is otherwise completely dependent on oil and gas for energy.

It has experienced significant growth in demand for electricity over the past few years as a result of population growth and the growing use of air-conditioning units.

The nation now wants to plug this energy gap with cleaner sources of power, setting a target last year to get five per cent of its electricity from renewables by 2025.