Construction of the first gas unit of Hengam Combined Cycle Power Plant in southern Hormozgan Province is complete and will be launched in two months, the director of combined cycle power plant projects at the Thermal Power Plants Holding Company said.
Using F-class gas turbines, the unit is one of the two gas units, each with a capacity of 307 megawatts, of the plant that is located in Bandar Abbas, the provincial capital, Alireza Nasrollahi was reported as saying by IRNA.
The plant will have a 280 MW steam unit, which brings the total capacity to 894 MW. It will be fully operational next year and cost $560 million.
Energy and infrastructure conglomerate Mapna has bought F-class gas turbines from Siemens for the plant that will supply electricity to 150,000 homes.
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.
It has been reported that the Energy Ministry will gradually phase out inefficient power plants, improve and expand electricity infrastructure and adopt modern power production technology.
High Efficiency
“Hengam Power Plant will have an efficiency rate of 58%, which is the highest for a plant with F-class turbines,” Nasrollahi said.
The energy efficiency of a conventional thermal power station, considered salable energy produced as a percent of the heating value of the fuel consumed, is typically 33% to 48%. Considering all the heat produced by gas and steam turbines, their efficiency is limited and governed by the laws of thermodynamics.
Effective steps have been taken to convert conventional plants into combined-cycle units to improve efficiency and reduce pollution and costs.
Average efficiency of domestic power plants is said to be around 37%. Thermal power stations account for 80% of total power generation in Iran and that is why enhancing their efficiency is important.
Under regulations set by the Energy Ministry, all new power plant units must have efficiency rates of 58% and above.
Nasrollahi said TPPHC has signed a contract with Mapna for the construction of 5,000 MW of thermal power plants using F-class gas turbines manufactured inside the country in five years.
“Construction of four new plants in Bandar Abbas, Bonab County in East Azerbaijan Province, Andimeshk and Ahvaz in Khuzestan Province is a priority,” he said, adding that four other plants will be built in Lorestan, Isfahan, Tehran and Qazvin provinces later. It is estimated that construction of all eight power plants will cost $2.46 billion.
Russian Collaboration
Regarding the 1,400 megawatt thermal power plant in Sirik County, which is going to be constructed with Russian help, he said following negotiations between the two countries, the L/C was opened and the managing director of Russia’s Technopromexport will visit Tehran next week for follow-up talks.
TPPHC had signed a contract with Technopromexport to build a power plant with four units with 350 MW capacity.
The plant is estimated to cost $2.2 billion. The Russian company will put up $1.34 billion of the cost and the rest will come from Iran's Bank of Industry and Mine.
It will create 3,000 jobs and 500 more will work at the power station when the first unit goes on stream. The plant is planned to come on line in about five years.
Thermal power plants in Hormozgan Province have an installed capacity of 3,250 MW and plans call for increasing it to 6,900 MW by 2024.
