Financed by industries, power station projects with a capacity of 1,500 megawatts have made 50% progress and will become operational by June, a deputy managing director of Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company (Tavanir) said.
“The projects are the result of a deal signed in 2021 between the Energy Ministry and the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade for the construction of thermal and solar power plants with a total capacity of 10 gigawatts by industries to provide reliable and stable electricity to mining and other industries,” the Energy Ministry’s news portal Paven also quoted Seyyed Zaman Hosseini as saying.
Giving a breakdown, the official noted that six gas units in thermal power plants located in Semnan, Isfahan, Hormozgan and Fars provinces will be connected to the national grid in summer.
“The second gas-powered unit of Shahid Bakeri Power Plant in Semnan Province, the first and second gas units of Mobarakeh Steel Company’s combined-cycle power plant in Isfahan Province, the first gas unit of Al-Mahdi Aluminum Power Station in Hormozgan Province, Lamerd Power Plant in Fars Province and Sirjan Power Station in Kerman Province are expected to add 183 MW, 636 MW, 183 MW, 315 MW and 183 MW to the network respectively,” he said.
As per the agreement, 10,000 MW of power stations were initially planned by industries. However, the figure later increased to 18,200 MW, which will be constructed in 15 provinces.
“The permits have been issued for 34 private sector firms for the construction of power plants with a capacity of 15,000 MW and 11 contractors are waiting to receive licenses to build power stations with a capacity of 3,200 MW,” he said.
“Of this capacity, about 1,500 MW are under construction in seven factories in Isfahan, Kerman, Hormozgan and Semnan.”
The first gas unit of Shahid Bakeri Power Plant in Semnan Province with a capacity of 183 MW became operational last summer. The second unit will become operational soon and the construction of the third unit, with a capacity of 183 MW, is underway, he added.
Steam Unit
Hosseini noted that a steam unit will also be built so that the plant will become a combined-cycle one.
Usually, one-third of the capacity of combined-cycle power stations pertains to steam units, which will be built next to the gas units and no longer require fuel as feedstock.
The engineering and energy giant MAPNA Group signed a deal in 2021 with Mines and Metals Development Investment Company to develop the combined-cycle power plant in Semnan.
The deal stipulates the design, engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning of advanced gas units equipped with MAPNA’s own E-Class MGT-70 gas turbines.
Referring to Mobarakeh Steel Company’s combined-cycle power plan, he added that the facility will add close to 900 MW to the national power grid when it becomes fully operational.
“As per a deal worth $430 million signed between Iran's biggest steelmaker in Isfahan Province and the MAPNA Group in 2021, the latter was tasked with building the facility in three phases. The first gas unit of the plant with a capacity of 300 MW will go on stream in June,” he said.
Industries can play a key role in boosting electricity output by embarking on power plant development projects, in which case they will no longer be at the mercy of the state-run Tavanir. This will enable them to use their own power generating plants and not be dependent on the national power grid.
In fact, industries account for 40% of Iran’s annual power consumption of 280 billion kilowatt hours.
Mining and manufacturing industries were negatively affected by the power supply crisis last summer, as they were forced to halt operations repeatedly in June and July, because the state-run utility company could not produce sufficient electricity.
PV Power Plant
Mobarakeh Steel Company has also invested $500 million in a major 600-MW photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Kouhpayeh County in Isfahan Province.
Kouhpayeh PV Power Station will be the largest of its kind in Iran and is expected to become fully operational in three years.
According to Meysam Latifi, an assistant to the Iranian president and the head of the Organization for Public Administration and Employment Affairs, the first phase of the plan will add close to 100 MW to the national power grid by July.
“The solar farm will be built on 1,200 hectares and is expected to help reduce natural gas consumption by about 350 million cubic meters per year,” he added.
Iran's installed solar power generating capacity is about 450 MW and this initiative alone will add 600 megawatts to the output.
The central Isfahan Province has five solar power stations.
Iran has a diverse climate with vast windy lands and more than 300 sunny days a year. However, its renewable power production is 980 MW, which is meager compared to the total 90,000 MW.
With the ongoing projects, renewables are expected to reach 1,100 MW by 2023.
Emphasizing the need for giving a bigger role to private companies in developing the key power industry, Latifi said more than 60% of the electricity are produced by the private sector.
Due to the government’s funding constraints and economic pressures, private firms have taken the mantle to help develop renewable energy.
Private companies have invested $1 billion in the gradually expanding renewable sector, mainly solar and wind.
