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While some of the damage of the 1991 war was repaired and about 4,500 MW of generating capacity was available in 1999 when Iraq reorganized its electricity sector. The sector was separated from the Ministry of Industry, and the Commission of Electricity (CoE) was established on June 21, 1999.
Iraq's electricity generation primarily depends on fossil fuels. In 202, natural gas was the largest source at 50.4% of the total, followed by oil at 47.6%. Renewable energy, mainly from hydroelectric power, contributed 2%. As of 2023, the 30 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity cannot meet summer peak demand.
The 1990 installed capacity of 9,295 MW consisted of 120 power-generating units in various thermal, gas turbine and hydroelectric power stations. Approximately 70% of Iraq's installed power generating capacity was damaged or destroyed during the 1991 Gulf War.
Summer peak demand 6,800–7,500 MW; 35 to 40% of the summer peak demand cannot be satisfied at present. Lack of electricity tends to affect more severely the most vulnerable groups of Iraq's society and increases their morbidity and mortality. Ongoing efforts need to be maintained and new actions to increase electricity supply need to be initiated.
In the field of aviation, solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have attracted attention owing to their high-altitude cruise and the availability of renewable energy , .
As shown in Fig. 1(a), the energy supply system, which includes photovoltaic and battery systems, provides the UAVs with energy during the cruise. The photovoltaic system contains photovoltaic arrays and a maximum power point tracker (MPPT).
Considering the actual situation in the flight process, the principle of energy distribution was used to distribute the energy inside the UAVs, and the energy distribution of solar-powered UAVs was optimized using a multi-objective genetic algorithm. A solution flow chart involving all models is shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 7. Model solving flow chart.
Fuel cells, particularly proton exchange membranes, demonstrate high energy density, enabling long flight durations for lightweight UAVs, yet face challenges such as slow response and hydrogen storage limitations.
