An estimated 359 billion kilowatt-hours of power have been produced over the last 12 months, of which 91% were generated in thermal power stations, director of planning at TPPHC said.
“Of the total output [359 billion kWH], close to 326 billion kWh were produced by thermal [steam, gas and combined-cycle] power stations, indicating an 8% rise compared to a year ago,” Omid Abdolmaleki was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
Giving a breakdown, the official said of the 326 billion kWh, steam-powered plants, gas-powered stations and combined-cycle plants generated 84 billion kWh, 59 billion kWh and 183 billion kWh respectively in the 12-month period.
According to the official, hydropower plants, the Bushehr nuclear plant in southern Iran, distributed generation stations and renewables constitute the rest of the production.
“TPPHC has signed at least 40 contracts with domestic manufacturers to indigenize much-needed parts and equipment in the power sector,” he said.
As per the agreement worth $30 million, knowledge-based firms have been tasked with producing a wide range of equipment, including turbine blades, retaining rings, rotors and compressors.
Referring to gas turbine blades, he said, “All the blades, which use high technology and were difficult to import due to the US sanctions, have been made by domestic startups.”
Thermal plants account for 80% of total power output (84 gigawatts) in the country of 83 million people. Over 120 thermal power stations with around 66 gigawatts of capacity are operational.
The United States imposed tough economic sanctions on Iran in 2018. The blockade, particularly on the energy, banking, insurance and shipping sectors, bar US companies from trading with Iran. Foreign firms are not spared.
Government’s Inability
A problem of thermal power plants in Iran is that many have long outlived their usefulness. Power plants built more than half a century ago are still in service, largely due to the government’s inability to replace them under the difficult economic conditions.
“Equipment and parts used in power stations must be repaired or replaced after a certain period,” Ali Isapour, director general of the Technology and Indigenization of Power Plants Office at TPPHC, said.
Components made by local companies have been approved by the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran.
In addition to upholding national standards, the parts are sent to international institutions for tests and verification.
The official said $1 million have been earmarked for R&D projects, including those of universities.
Iran is among the top five countries in power plant construction and manufactures a variety of machineries, turbines, generators and control systems.
THPCC, a subsidiary of the Energy Ministry, oversees dozens of fossil fuel power plants. It is also in charge of building 7,000 MW of gas-powered units for the Shiraz, Tabriz, Kashan, Urmia and Chabahar combined cycle power plants.
Steps have been taken to convert conventional plants into combined-cycle units, as the latter use both gas and steam turbines to produce up to 50% more electricity from the same fuel than a traditional simple cycle plant. The waste heat from the gas turbines is sent to nearby steam turbines that again generate electricity.
Installed Capacity
With an installed capacity of 70 gigawatts, Iran ranks ninth in terms of thermal power capacity in the world.
According to a report by the Energy Ministry, the total power capacity in the world is 6,628 GW, of which 4,017 GW comes from thermal plants using fossil fuels, or 61% of the total.
In Iran, steam-powered plants, gas-powered stations and combined-cycle plants constitute 90% of the total nominal electricity production capacity of 84 GW, the Energy Ministry’s news portal reported.
China, the US, India, Japan, Russia, Germany, South Korea and Saudi Arabia have larger thermal capacity compared to Iran and are ranked first to eighth respectively.
A total of 123 thermal power plants are operational. Steam, gas and combined-cycle units account for 20 GW, 25 GW and 25 GW of the thermal stations respectively.
Hydropower plants (14.8%), distributed generation stations (1.8%), Bushehr nuclear plant in south Iran (1.3%), renewables (0.9%) and diesel (0.5%) constitute the rest of the capacity.
In a thermal power station, heat energy is converted to electric power.
Energy from a thermal power plant not utilized in power production is released in the form of heat into the environment. This waste heat can go through a condenser and be disposed with cooling water or in cooling towers.
