A solar power plant in Yazd Province will come online by the end of summer, managing director of Yazd Regional Electricity Company said.
“The 10 megawatt farm will increase solar power output in the province to 68.5 MW from the current 58.5 MW,” ISNA quoted Abolfazl Asadi as saying.
The new photovoltaic power center is located in Nir, a town in Taft County, and when operational will annually generate 18,000 gigawatt hours of electricity.
If the same amount of energy was to be produced by thermal plants, it would annually consume 4 million liters of water. The solar farm will also help cut emission of 12,500 tons of greenhouse gases a year.
Designing of parts and components of the plant has been carried out by Parto Energy Company, a member of Sharif University Science and Tech Park.
Referring to the importance of domestic parts’ manufacturing for solar power plants and its impact on lowering prices, Asadi said: “In the past four years, some key parts, which were usually imported, were made locally with the help of domestic companies”.
The hot and dry climate in Yazd is ideal for harvesting solar energy. It is situated near an oasis where two deserts meet, namely Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut, the latter known as one of the hottest places on earth
There are currently seven solar power plants in the central and near permanently dry province. Twenty more solar projects with total capacity of 340 MW are in different stages of construction in Yazd. The new units are estimated to cost $16 million and will be completed by 2022.
Yazd has the highest solar power output in the country, and with 3,200 plus sunlight hours throughout the year, the ancient and historic city is highly suitable for harnessing solar power.
In the past seven years private firms have invested $30 million in solar power while government share in expanding infrastructure is said to be $13 million.
The hot and dry climate in Yazd is ideal for harvesting solar energy. It is situated near an oasis where two deserts meet, namely Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut, the latter known as one of the hottest places on earth.
Iran’s renewable industry is among the slowest-growing sectors and produces less than 1,000 MW of the total power of 84,000 MW produced largely by thermal plants that feed on fossil fuels.
Cheaper Sources
Solar and onshore wind energy are the cheapest sources of new-build generation for two-thirds of the global population, according to an analysis conducted by Bloomberg.
The analysis, which covered 7,000 projects across 47 countries, was based on information from real projects under construction and proprietary pricing information gathered from suppliers.
Data revealed that the levelized costs of electricity (LCOE) – how much it costs to produce one MWh of electricity for a new project – for onshore wind and photovoltaic panels fell to 9% and 4% respectively, compared with 2019.
Globally, average prices for wind and solar energy are around $44 per MWh and $50 per MWh – 50% less than in 2018.
Brazil has the lowest cost, with prices for onshore wind energy at $24/MWh, followed by the US, India and Spain with $26/MWh, $29/MWh and $29/MWh respectively.
For solar PV, the global LCOE is estimated to be between $23/MWh and $29/MWh, with upcoming projects in Australia, China, Chile and the UAE.
In China, the solar PV benchmark has dropped by 9%, with prices $38/MWh – almost the same as coal-fired energy.
