Thermal Power Plants Holding Company and MAPNA Group have signed a contract for the construction of seven medium-scale power plants.
The deal seeks to increase electricity generation capacity and reduce voltage drop in remote areas. The new stations will also replace dilapidated units of aging power plants to increase their efficiency, the Energy Ministry’s news portal Paven reported.
According to the contract, the plants will be built in Sistan-Baluchestan, Hormozgan, Yazd, Khuzestan and Lorestan provinces, and each will have a capacity to generate 42 megawatts of electricity.
Based on the plan, of the total seven stations, three will be put into operation by next summer in the southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province and the other four stations will be connected to the country's electricity network in two years.
The power stations will be capable of running on natural gas and diesel. Following the launch of steam unit, it will be turned into combined-cycle stations with higher efficiency. They can also be used as combined heat and power (CHP) plants.
The average efficiency of fossil-fueled power plants is 33% because a part of the energy in the fuel is wasted in the form of heat discharged into the atmosphere. By recovering the wasted heat, CHP systems typically achieve 80% efficiency.
The power stations will be capable of running on natural gas and diesel. Following the launch of steam unit, it will be turned into combined-cycle stations with higher efficiency
By producing electricity onsite, CHP avoids transmission and distribution (T&D) loss that occurs when electricity travels over extended power lines. Losses can be higher when the grid is under strain and temperatures are high.
By avoiding T&D losses associated with conventional electricity supply, CHP reduces fuel use, helps avoid the need for extra T&D infrastructure and eases grid congestion when demand is high.
A combined-cycle power plant uses both gas and steam turbines to produce up to 50% more electricity from the same fuel than a traditional simple cycle plant. The waste heat from the gas turbine is sent to a nearby steam turbine, which also generates electricity.
MGT-40 Gas Turbines
In the medium-scale power plants, MAPNA will use MGT-40 gas turbines that have been indigenized by local specialists.
Reliability and availability for power generation are major requisites in the power industry. MGT-40 gas turbines are marked by robustness and long-term service lifetime that help tackle those challenges.
The advantages and capabilities of MGT-40 gas turbines also include the flexibility of being set up in locations with space constraints, operating continuously and being resistant to adverse climatic conditions. They can also be constructed and start operating in six months, having full compliance with the standards and requirements of the electricity industry.
MAPNA Group is a conglomerate of Iranian companies involved in the development and execution of thermal and renewable power, oil and gas, railroads and other industrial projects as well as manufacturing equipment.
TPPHC, a subsidiary of the Energy Ministry, oversees dozens of fossil fuel power plants with installed capacity of over 65,000 MW – the bulk of Iran's electricity demand.
Thermal plants account for over 80% of total power output (85 gigawatts) in the country.
