BAGHDAD - In a city with constant electricity shortages but no lack of sunshine, the new buzz is solar energy.

Teams of engineers have appeared along major Baghdad roadways, bolting panels and bulbs to rows of towering steel poles to make solar-powered streetlights.

"We are lighting up the city with solar power," Sajad Hussein declared when queried by curious residents. "People say it is a gift from God."

Surging oil prices have fueled interest in solar power and other renewable energy sources across the United States, where pressure also is building to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to fend off global warming.

But Iraq's decision to embrace clean energy has little to do with cost cutting or the environment: Iraqi policy makers want to improve security, and the national grid doesn't supply enough electricity to illuminate city streets.

For Iraqis, the lack of reliable power has been one of the biggest frustrations of the war. The US government has committed $4.91 billion to repairing the ravaged electricity infrastructure and bringing new generating units online. But most Iraqis can count on just a few hours of power a day.

Faced with another long, hot summer without sufficient electricity, an Iraqi journalist confronted a US general at a news conference in the spring and demanded to know why the military wasn't harnessing the sun's rays for the national grid.

Brigadier General Jeffrey Dorko, commander of the US Army Corps of Engineers in Iraq, said the cost was prohibitive.

"A rough standard worldwide is it costs approximately $1 million to create a power plant to generate one megawatt of power," he said. "The cost per one megawatt for solar power is several times that, maybe $6 million or $7 million per megawatt."

But US and Iraqi officials agree that solar energy can be useful on a more limited scale, such as powering a street lamp.

Iraq's electricity grid already was in a state of disrepair after years of sanctions when US-led forces invaded in March 2003. The US efforts have added about 2,200 megawatts of daily generating capacity, which now stands at about 5,500 megawatts.

But the growth in demand has far outpaced supply. Iraqis are snapping up other energy-consuming devices that have come onto the market since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

US reconstruction efforts have added to the pressure on the national grid as new hospitals, schools, water treatment plants, and other facilities come online. Essential services are guaranteed a near-continuous supply of electricity, which leaves little for business and residential consumers.

Although capacity has improved, production levels rarely achieve their potential. Transmission towers are frequently attacked, causing disruptions throughout the network. A severe drought has reduced output from hydroelectric plants by nearly 30 percent. The sector is also beset by fuel shortages.

Iraq sits atop the world's third-largest proven oil reserves. But the country has limited refining capabilities and imports large quantities of diesel to keep its turbines spinning.

But there is no shortage of sunshine, said Aziz al-Shimari, spokesman for the Electricity Ministry. Iraq is a country of vast deserts where summer temperatures can top 120 degrees.

"This offers us more possibility of producing power," Shimari said. Light is "an important condition for security, so people will go out at night."

The ministry plans to install 5,000 solar-powered streetlights in Baghdad at a cost of $1,800 to $2,000 apiece. There also are plans to install 1,000 units in each of Iraq's 18 provinces.

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