The government-subsidized electricity was useless at Salah Mohammed's house in the Abbasi sub-district of southwestern Kirkuk. The voltage was so low that the villagers couldn't even start the motors that provided drinking water.
"The lack of electricity led to a shortage of water, not only for food but also for daily necessities. The electricity was weak and practically useless except for light bulbs."
Four years ago, Salah was one of the few villagers who decided to use a solar system to generate electricity from the sun. Since then, many villagers have turned to solar systems to generate electricity.
In Tarqiya village, 40 out of 60 families currently rely on solar energy instead of national electricity and generators.
Solar systems, besides using solar energy to generate electricity, are also environmentally friendly, unlike electricity generators that emit smoke and contribute to environmental and air pollution.
"It's a quiet and clean system. It's better than paying for or buying a generator, which doesn't provide electricity like solar energy."
Salah now has round the clock electricity, powered by solar energy during the day and batteries at night.
It's a quiet and clean system
The installation cost varies based on the number of panels or the family's electricity needs. "It costs about $3.5 million Iraqi Dinars (USD2,300) for 10 amps of electricity," said Aqeel Mohammed, director of a solar system company.
The solar system is also used for agriculture, providing water for farming. "We no longer have water or electricity problems, and we have a cleaner environment."
The adoption of solar systems has rapidly spread in villages in southern and southwestern Kirkuk.
Kirkuk governorate needs more than a thousand megawatts daily to secure the electricity needs of its residents while it is receiving half of the demanded power. The governorate administration relies on 733 private diesel generators to make up for the shortfall in hours of supplying national electricity.
The northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk, 238 kilometers north of Baghdad, is an ethnically mixed province for 1.7 million Kurds, Sunni and Shiite Arabs, and Turkmens. It has long been at the center of disputed territories between Baghdad and Erbil.
Oumran Abid, a farmer from Sumud village in Kirkuk, married father of five, installed a solar system a month ago for the same reasons Salah mentioned: lack of electricity and water.
"I couldn't run the water pump with national electricity, which was crucial for drinking and agricultural water."
He installed a solar system that provides 70 amps of electricity at a cost of 8.9 million IQD.
"Now I can farm properly. I have water for drinking and agriculture. I am 100 percent satisfied with it," he said, despite the financial strain of using the solar system.
Solar installation companies offer various types of solar systems based on customers' financial capacity. Aqil Mohammed, director of Nabi al-Hader Company for installing solar systems in Kirkuk, mentioned that some batteries come with a five-year warranty and can last up to 15 years.
"Solar energy systems are more commonly used in rural areas than in cities, where neighborhood generators and national electricity are more reliable."
Solar energy systems are more commonly used in rural areas than in cities
In general, Kirkuk receives about 14 to 15 hours of electricity daily, with occasional fluctuations. However, villages often experience weak voltage that renders it unusable.
Following gulf war in 1991, the Iraqi state infrastructure was sharply hit by the economic embargo on Saddam Hussein regime due to damage of many transmission lines and substations leaving the basic services provided by the state inadequate.
Few years later, the local authorities gave permission to installation of private diesel generators in the residential neighborhoods to provide power and fill in the national power outage as it could provide only half of the demand on national network of state-subsidized electricity.
The cost of the power provided by private generators is couple of times double of power provided by the state thus people are obliged to consume as less as possible during national power outage in order to pay less for private generators.
Hawija district in southern Kirkuk, where agriculture and livestock are predominant, has seen a significant shift towards the use of solar systems among farmers. This move has pleased environmentalists due to the system's lack of pollution and air contamination.
"The generators used in Kirkuk emit harmful substances that pollute the air and contribute to climate change," said Halo Ghazi, head of Dubiz Organization for environmental advocate. "It's crucial to expand the use of solar systems to protect the environment and reduce pollution."
"If the government struggles to provide sufficient electricity, they could assist people to install solar systems through affordable monthly installments," he suggested.
"The system also conserves water. During the summer, households use a lot of water for cooling. With ample electricity from solar systems, there will be no need for air coolers."
