Hydroelectric power plants across the country generated 10,500 gigawatt hours of electricity during March-October 2021, indicating a 30% decline compared to a year ago, yet hydropower output is expected to rise due to torrential downpours, the head of Iran Water Resources Management Company said.
“Heavy precipitation in most regions has helped raise water reserves in dams by 2 billion cubic meters and hydropower plants are projected to produce at least 15 GWh of electricity over the next nine months, up 30% compared with the same period of last year,” Hassan Razavi was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
Giving a breakdown, Razavi noted that Gotvand, Masjed Soleyman and Shahid Abbaspour hydropower plants all in Khuzestan Province generated 2,000 GWh, 1,800 GWh and 1,600 GWh respectively in the seven-month period.
Of the total 54 hydropower plants, currently 36 are operating across the country, mostly in the coastal regions of the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, and the rest are being overhauled.
“With a production capacity of 12,000 megawatts, their total energy production per year is over 27,000 GW hours when dams are full,” he said.
“There are 17 hydroelectric power plants under construction. When operational, they will add 3,725 MW to the total hydropower output.
Hydropower is a renewable source of energy and is cleaner compared to other sources. It constitutes almost 13% of Iran’s total installed power generation capacity of 86,000 MW and plays a key role during outages in summer by quickly restoring supply and supporting other plants [mostly thermal].”
Indigenized Equipment
According to Javad Hajiani, the head of Dispatching Department at Iran Water Resources Management Company, engineers have indigenized a key equipment used in hydroelectric power plants.
“The automatic voltage regulator [AVR], which is one of the main components of the hydroelectric industry, has been manufactured with domestic know-how,” he said.
AVR regulates voltage during fluctuations and changes voltage into stable power. Fluctuation in voltage occurs mainly due to variation in load on the supply system. Variations in voltage, if huge, often damage power equipment.
“The turbine governor, another major part in power stations, was indigenized recently and is used in Sardasht hydropower station [West Azarbaijan Province] and Daryan hydropower plant [Kermanshah Province].”
Global hydropower capacity reached 1,308 gigawatts in 2019, as 50 countries and territories completed greenfield and upgrade projects, according to the 2020 Hydropower Status Report. A total of 15.6 GW in installed capacity were added in 2019, down from the 21.8 GW in 2018.
China topped the list with 8,540 megawatts, followed by Brazil (3,866 MW), Pakistan (2,487 MW), Turkey (1,085 MW), Angola (668 MW), Tajikistan (605 MW), Ecuador (556 MW), India (535 MW), Norway (419 MW) and Canada (401 MW).
Hydropower is produced in 150 countries because the cost is relatively low, making it a competitive source of renewable energy.
Thermal Power Output
According to Mohsen Tarztalab, the head of Iran's Thermal Power Plants Holding Company, with the synchronization of the second steam unit of the Urmia Combined Cycle Power Station with the grid last week, the capacity of Iran's thermal power plants has reached 70,000 MW.
“Since September 2021, about 1,000 MW of new steam and gas units have been connected to the national electricity network. They include the gas units of Hengam and Iran LNG power plants and the steam units of Jahrom, Harris and Urmia power stations.”
“So far, 587 steam and gas units have been built in 129 thermal power plants in the country,” he said, adding that with the launch of the Urmia Power Plant, the number of thermal units owned by the private sector and industries has reached 383 units, with a total capacity of more than 47,000 MW.
Tarztalab noted that 67% of the total capacity of thermal power plants in the country are owned by the private sector.
According to the Energy Ministry’s plan, by the end of the current Iranian year (March 2022), by constructing new units and upgrading the existing units, the capacity of the country's thermal power plants will increase by about 1,500 MW.
