The second gas unit of Hengam Power Plant in Bandar Abbas, southern Hormozgan Province, which was equipped with an indigenized F-class turbine, came on stream on Thursday in the presence of Deputy Energy Minister Homayoun Haeri.
“With a capacity of 307 megawatts, the project cost $612 million and was completed by Iranian engineers,” the Energy Ministry’s news website quoted Haeri as saying at the inauguration ceremony.
“A 292-MW steam unit is also under construction. When fully operational, the power station will have a generation capacity of 906 MW.”
According to the official, each gas unit has an efficiency rate of 40% and as soon as the steam unit comes on stream, the power plant’s efficiency will reach 60%.
The average efficiency of domestic power plants is around 37%. Thermal power stations account for 80% of total power generation of around 85,000 MW in Iran and enhancing their efficiency is crucial.
The first gas unit of the power station, with a capacity of 307 MW, was synchronized with the national power grid in January.
Haeri said the construction of F-class gas turbines in combined-cycle power plants is on the agenda of Thermal Power Plants Holding Company, a subsidiary of Energy Ministry, to improve efficiency and reduce electricity waste.
TPPHC has signed a contract with the energy and infrastructure conglomerate MAPNA for the construction of 5,000 MW of thermal power plants by 2024 using F-class gas turbines made inside the country.
Hengam Power Plant is the first among eight projects to have become operational. Upon completion, the plant will supply electricity to 150,000 homes in the southern province of Persian Gulf.
Thermal power plants in Hormozgan Province have an installed capacity of over 44,000 MW, of which 1,800 MW became operational over the last seven years.
F-class gas turbines are defined by high performance, low power generation costs, long intervals between inspections and a service-friendly design. Optimized flow and cooling add up to high efficiency and economically viable power generation in combined cycle applications.
Indigenous Parts
Haeri noted that power plants in the province are using indigenous parts and equipment made by domestic manufacturers.
Twenty parts used in the power plant have been indigenized in the first two months of the current Iranian year (March 21-May 21).
He added that making efforts toward self-sufficiency is one of the important priorities ofthe power station.
"Relying on existing potentials and using local engineers and experts, we have been able to improve the quality of repair and maintenance process and do it in the shortest possible time," he said.
Sirik Power Plant
The construction of Sirik Power Plant in Sirik County, Hormozgan Province, which is financed by Russia, started on Thursday, Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian said in the groundbreaking ceremony.
“Russia had signed an agreement with Iran to build the 1,400-megawatt thermal power plant in 2016, but the project stalled owing to administrative and funding problems. Now the Russian government has issued a guarantee for a $1.4 billion loan to fund the construction of the power station in southern Iran,” Ardakanian said.
“The project is estimated to cost $1.7 billion. Last month, we received the guarantee for the $1.4 billion loan and we will provide the rest.”
Russia’s Power Machines, a Saint Petersburg-based engineering company, has been recently contracted by Moscow to use Russian funds to build the 1.4-gigawatt power plant. Iranian companies and manufacturers will also contribute to the project.
In 2016, Iran's Thermal Power Plants Holding Company signed a contract with Russia’s Technopromexport to build the power plant comprising four units of 350 MW each. However, the project never saw the light of day.
Now with the change of contractor and loan guarantee, the facility is expected to be built over the next five years.
Power Machines Company is a global power engineering entity and one of the world’s top 10 industry leaders in terms of installed-equipment volume. It has a wealth of experience and expertise in engineering-design, manufacturing and supply equipment for thermal, nuclear and hydro power plants.
“The project is considered a key step toward stabilizing electricity network in normally underprivileged regions in the south and southeast of the country,” Ardakanian said.
The construction of Sirik power station will create 3,000 jobs and 500 more will work at the plant when the first unit comes on stream.
Sirik County overlooks the Strait of Hormuz, between the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.
Russian officials have often voiced interest in expanding economic ties with Iran. The two sides have held wide-ranging talks on promoting collaboration in the fields of energy, railroad and aviation.
The country has also carried out the construction of the first unit of Iran’s sole nuclear power plant in Bushehr Province. It came on stream in 2011 and reached full capacity (1,000 MW) the following year.
Hormozgan has abundant of mineral resources and is well known for its chromite, red soil, lime, gypsum, sulfur and salt mines.
