A 50-megawatt wind farm in Sistan-Baluchestan Province will start partial operation by fall, managing director of Iran Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution Management Company (Tavanir) said.
"With a 400 kV transmission line, the first large-scale wind farm in the southeastern province will be launched by September,” IRNA quoted Mohammad Hassan Motevallizadeh as saying.
A 25-kilometer transmission line will connect turbines of the wind farm to the national grid.
Located in the Mil-e Nader village in Zabol City, the farm will have 20 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 2.5 MW, manufactured by Mapna Company.
Relying on domestic knowhow, Mapna is the largest manufacturer of wind turbines in Iran. It is a leading company in wind power generation and expansion, and has set up wind farms so far with 105 MW capacity in Qazvin and East Azarbaijan provinces.
The company is a key player in the electricity, oil, gas and transport sectors, and the largest manufacturer of power plant equipment in the Middle East and West Asia. It has demonstrated significant progress in industrial advancement and technological prowess.
The 120-day wind is a strong wind occurring from late May to late September in the east and southeast of the Iranian Plateau, particularly in Sistan-Baluchestan. Typical wind speed is 30-40 km/hour, but occasionally it exceeds 100-110 km
With abundance of wind, Zabol has huge potential for producing impressive volumes of power with wind turbines. The city is near the Afghan border and if electricity output increases in the region, power exports to the neighboring country would be possible.
Moreover, northern areas of the underdeveloped Sistan-Baluchestan Province are suitable for large wind farms.
Despite the advantages, there is only one small-scale wind turbine in the region and most of the province's electricity comes from other provinces.
“The region has strong and continuous winds, known as the ‘120-day winds’, and when they start blowing, it is not possible to install the turbines,” managing director of Sistan and Baluchestan Regional Electricity Company said.
So far, two turbines have been installed in the area dedicated to the wind farm in Mil-e Nader,” Alireza Parandeh-Motlaq was quoted as saying by Borna News Agency.
The 120-day wind is a strong wind occurring from late May to late September in the east and southeast of the Iranian Plateau, particularly in Sistan-Baluchestan. Typical wind speed is 30-40 kilometers per hour, but occasionally exceeds 100-110 km.
“So long as the 120-day winds are blowing, Mapna will move its turbines to the region and it will be stationed later,” the official added.
Upon completion, the 50 MW wind farm will be the largest of its kind in the southeast.
Iran's installed power production capacity is around 84,000 MW, but output from renewables comprises less than 1%. The share of renewables in power production is less than 1,000 MW and there are increasing calls for moving faster towards eco-friendly energy as climate change takes a high toll globally.