Operations to increase the efficiency of Sanandaj Thermal Power Plant in Kurdestan Province in western Iran were completed by Iran's top engineering and energy enterprise Mapna, head of technical affairs department at Iran's Thermal Power Plants Holding Company said.
“The power station which has four gas-powered units is now functioning with 37% efficiency up 8% compared to a year ago,” Esmaeel Namazi was quoted as saying by the Energy Ministry’s news portal.
The $15 million project will help curb the plant’s natural gas consumption by 20 million cubic meters per year. Moreover, CO2 emissions are expected to decrease by 40,000 tons annually, he noted.
The station (with a total output capacity of 1,039 megawatts per day) also has two steam-powered units and plans are underway to convert these to combined-cycle to increase efficiency by as much as 20%.
“Increasing the efficiency of power plants is one of the priorities of the Energy Ministry as construction of new power plants is costlier than raising efficiency of the current operating units.”
Boosting infrastructure, adopting modern power technology and converting conventional plants into efficient combined-cycle units are among measures the Energy Ministry has taken to enhance efficiency of power stations and as a result, power loss in the network has reduced by 5%, Namazi added.
Power Output
According to Mohammad Hassan Motevalizadeh, managing director of Iran's Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company (Tavanir), there are two ways to boost power output. The first is to build new power plants and the other enhance efficiency and reduce loss. “It is obvious that the latter makes economic sense.”
“Almost $250 million has been spent on programs to increase power efficiency,” he said, noting that decreasing power wastage means improved access to electricity.
He did not say what amount of electricity has been added to the network by enhancing efficiency, but argued that if new power plants were to be built it would cost $2.5 billion -- ten times more than what has been spent.
Present power plant efficiency is near 38%. As per the Sixth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2017-22), it is expected to grow 40%. Under Energy Ministry rules new power plants must have at least 58% efficiency.
Gas Turbines
Gas-turbines are critical to modern power production. Gas turbines are air-breathing machines whose power output depends on air mass through the compressor.
Ambient temperature, altitude and humidity affect the density of air that is why on hot days, when air is less dense, power output falls.
Domestically-manufactured fan blades by Mapna (to function in high temperatures) have been installed on turbine compressors of some plants to help reduce the temperature in the engine and raise turbine output. Depending on the gas turbine, this translates into power output expansion from 5 to 10%.
“The method (producing and installing domestic fan blades) will be used in all thermal power plants at an estimated cost of $120 million and raise production by at least 2,000 megawatts,” Motevalizadeh said.
Total electricity production in Iran is 84,000 MW per day.
Mapna is a conglomerate of Iranian companies involved in development and execution of thermal and renewable power, oil and gas projects, railroad transportation, industrial projects and manufacturing equipment and parts.
Caption: Present power plant efficiency is near 38%.
