A Comparative Review of Renewable Energy Potential, Policy Targets, and Implementation in Iran

Fossil fuel has a major role in the world primary energy supply, especially in oil-rich countries. The limitation and high cost of fossil fuel, air and water pollution and global warming are the most important reasons that led the countries to utilize the clean energies. As a country with a high amount of resources, Iran also attempts to increase the share of renewable energy in its total primary energy use. In this regard, the country specifies the share of renewables in its Five-Year Economic, Cultural, and Social Development Plans. In this paper, in addition to the review of renewable energy potential in Iran, the deployment of renewable technology has been studied based on Iran's Development Plans. Using up-to-date data is a distinctive feature of this study.