ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Thursday discussed accelerating a 1,000-megawatt solar power project with a United Arab Emirates company as part of Baghdad’s push to diversify its energy supplies.

Sudani met with UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Sultan al-Jaber to review “the necessary steps for the UAE’s Masdar company to commence the project of generating 1,000 megawatts of solar energy in Iraq,” according to a statement from Sudani’s office.

Iraq’s electricity ministry said in March that the project will cover four provinces.

Sudani affirmed Iraq’s “commitment to strengthening serious cooperation with regional and international partners to develop the energy sector, establish effective partnerships for the development of environmentally friendly petrochemical industries, and reinforce Iraq’s position in this field.”

Baghdad has been scrambling to diversify its energy sources after Washington in March rescinded a waiver that had allowed it to purchase electricity from neighboring Iran, on which it relied for years.

Since then, Sudani has held talks with energy officials to explore alternatives, including boosting natural gas use and importing electricity from Jordan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan.

Iraq suffers from chronic electricity shortages, especially in the summer when demand spikes as temperatures soar above 50 degrees Celsius.

In late March, the electricity ministry announced it was close to reaching agreements with Emirati and Saudi companies to build solar panel facilities.