Power plants in Gilan Province generated 12.5 million megawatt hours of electricity since March 2019, of which 53% was diverted to the neighboring provinces, head of the provincial power company said.
“Of the total production (12.5 million MWh), 6.6 million MWh was consumed in the province and the balance (5.8 million MWh) was supplied to Mazandaran, Ardebil, Zanjan and Qazvin,” Azim Bolbolabadi was quoted as saying by the Energy Ministry news portal.
There are 12 power stations in this northern region, two of which are combined-cycle (Paresar in Rezvanshahr County and Gilan in Rasht) and five are hydroelectric (Talesh, Bijar, Tarik, Sefidroud and Loshan).
In addition three are small-scale power plants with distributed generation systems (Gil and Caspian) and a combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Bandar Anzali Free Trade Zone.
A wind power plant operates in Manjil, 250 kilometers north of Tehran.
Bolbolabadi said electricity generated in Manjil wind farm (installed capacity of 90 MW) since March 2019 surged 71% compared to the year before.
“The wind power plant (71 wind turbines) produced 95,000 megawatt hours of electricity in the 11months.”
This output is 71% more compared to the corresponding period in 2018 when output was 55,000 MW hours.
Harnessing wind energy, the government says, will help reduce dependence on fossil fuels as it cuts electricity generation from thermal power plants using natural gas and other fossil fuels (mazut).
Wind energy does not produce waste or contaminate water – a major issue given the water crisis in the country. Unlike fossil fuels and nuclear power plants, wind energy has one of the lowest water-consumption footprints, which makes it key for conserving water resources that are reducing rapidly in Iran.
Environment Friendly
Wind power is among the most efficient technology to harvest electricity in a safe and environmentally-sustainable way: it is zero emission, local and exists in abundance.
More than 200 wind turbines are in operation in Gilan, Khorasan Razavi, East Azarbaijan and Qazvin provinces.
Wind energy is produced in 79 countries; 24 of them have more than 1,000 MW installed capacity each. In terms of megawatt accumulation, the five main markets are China, the US, Germany, Spain and India.
Gilan lies along the Caspian Sea in north Iran and gets the highest annual rainfall -- 4.5 times above national and 1.2 times above global average. This has helped the growth of lush greenery and dense forests that give the province a unique status and biodiversity. The region is visited by millions of tourists every year.
