Financial Tribune - Renewable energy sources in Iran generated over 4.3 billion kilowatt hours of electricity since 2009.

If the same amount was produced by thermal power plants that consume gas as feedstock, 1.23 billion cubic meters of gas would be burnt, ILNA reported.

Producing electricity from green sources has helped the country reduce greenhouse gases by as much as 2.97 million tons in the ten years.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is among the major challenges nations big and small are facing to varying degrees.

Greenhouse gases are capable of trapping the earth's emitted radiation, which otherwise escapes back into space. The primary greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.

Renewable electricity has also helped save more than 950 million liters of water over the last decade.

Iran's installed power capacity is about 82,000 megawatts, of which 850 MW comes from renewable sources including solar, wind, small-scale hydroelectric and waste-to-energy power plants and biomass factories.

Renewable energy is the least expensive option for improving access to electricity, reducing air pollution and cutting CO2 emissions.

Investment by the private firms in the sector has surpassed $1.1 billion, mostly in building solar power plants.

There are 115 large-scale solar plants in the country and 37 are under construction. Over 3,550 small-scale photovoltaic stations have been installed and 2,350 PV systems will be set up soon.