In this village nestled in the arid hills of rural Iran, government-subsidized solar panels on the rooftops of homes provide both needed electricity and a shining symbol of efforts by the Islamic Republic to wean itself off fossil fuels and nuclear power.



President Hassan Rouhani's government has quintupled its spending on solar power projects in the last year, taking advantage of Iran's 300-odd days of sunshine a year that make its vast sun-kissed lands one of the best spots on earth to host solar panels.



Iran, home to some 77 million people, is a fossil-fuel powerhouse, even in the crude-oil rich Middle East.



Rouhani's administration, however, sees a bright future in solar, spending $60 million this year on solar projects compared to just $12 million last year.



It remains unclear what percentage renewable energy accounts for in Iran's energy portfolio, though he said officials hope to produce 5,000 megawatts from renewable resources within two years.

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