A new solar power station in the southeastern Kerman Province was connected to the national power grid on Saturday.
The new station increased solar photovoltaic capacity in Kerman to 70 MW, the Energy Ministry’s news website Paven reported.
Built over 2 hectares in Rafsanjan County, it is the 11th solar farm in the desert province.
Costing $3 and built by the private sector, the plant has 1 megawatt capacity. It will generate 1,633-megawatt hours of electricity per year and help reduce greenhouse gases.
If the same amount of energy was to be produced by a thermal power plant, 1,371 tons of carbon dioxide would be emitted annually. Likewise, the plant will save consumption of 560,000 cubic meters of natural gas.
Ten other small-scale plants went on stream in different counties in the province last week, the largest of which was a 200-kilowatt station in Sirjan.
Thirteen plants are under construction in the province, the completion of which will increase the region’s power output capacity by 100 MW in summer.
Located in the southeast, Kerman is among the largest provinces in Iran. Having a dry climate, it has sufficient solar radiation and many solar farms and rooftop photovoltaic systems have been installed there in recent years.
A total of 1,266 rooftop-mounted systems are already functioning in the province, with a total capacity of 10,228 kilowatts.
Referring to other regions, the news portal added that in western Kermanshah Province, the completion of 13 solar power plants will add 36 MW to the total renewable national capacity.
The West Regional Electric Company has signed contracts with private firms to build the power stations, including a 10-MW plant in Sarpol-e-Zahab County, a 10-MW farm in Kuzaran City, a 7-MW station in Salas-e-Babajani County, a 7-MW plant in Cheshmeh Sefid Village of Dalahu County and a 2-MW station in Kangavar County.
Besides curbing environmental pollution, solar energy reduces production costs compared to thermal power plants that have long created serious concern among environmentalists, climate change activists and the general public worldwide.
Of the total 86,000 MW of national capacity in Iran, 980 MW come from renewables. According to the latest Energy Ministry data, green energy figures show 44% renewable output are from solar, 40% from wind power, 13% from small hydroelectric plants, 2% geothermal and 1% biomass.
The oil- and gas-rich nation has accelerated efforts in recent years to increase the thin share of renewables in its power mix. The government expects to increase renewable capacity to 5,000 MW by 2025.
Based on a report by the Energy Ministry, over 3.9 billion kilowatt hours of electricity have been generated from alternative energy sources in the past 12 years, reducing water and fossil fuel consumption.
This volume of clean energy was produced from June 2009 to the present. It helped cut 2.16 million tons of greenhouse gases and 889 million cubic meters of natural gas. It also saved 689 million liters of water.
Currently, 103 plants generate renewable energy and another 42, with a total capacity of 416 MW, are under construction.
Globally, there are three key enablers – price and performance parity, grid integration and technology – that allow renewable energy sources (notably solar and wind) to compete with conventional sources on price while matching their performance, according to a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency.
