The transformer of the first 162-megawatt gas unit of Mahtab Kavir Power Plant in Zarand County, Kerman Province, has become operational and the unit will be connected to the national electricity network soon, director of the power project at the Thermal Power Plants Holding Company said.
“The first gas unit of the power station will be launched in mid-May and will help supply electricity to the south and southeastern regions in the three provinces of Kerman, Hormozgan and Sistan-Baluchestan,” Mahmoud Sadeqi was also quoted as saying by the Energy Ministry’s news portal Paven.
A power plant transformer generates electrical power from one voltage level to another while maintaining the same frequency but usually different voltage levels. A transformer uses electromagnetic induction to transform the voltage.
With two gas units and a steam unit, the combined-cycle power plant will have a total capacity of 484 MW when fully operational, he added.
It is being constructed on a 52-hectare land, 20 kilometers from Zarand City, near the village of Aliabad.
The second unit is expected to come on stream in June and the steam unit will be launched later.
The construction operation of the power plant is being implemented by domestic experts using the government’s financial resources and the plant’s efficiency will be 48%.
All the main components and equipment of this complex, including turbines, generators, transformers and auxiliary equipment, are manufactured by domestic producers and companies.
Currently, the old thermal power plant in Zarand is the first to have been operating for half a century in southeast Iran and one of the few that uses mazut to generate electricity. However, due to the low efficiency and lack of fuel, it will soon be phased out and replaced with the new combined-cycle power station.
A combined-cycle power plant uses both gas and steam turbines to produce up to 50% more electricity from the same fuel than a traditional simple-cycle plant. Waste heat from the gas turbine is routed to the nearby steam turbine to generate electricity.
Energy efficiency of a conventional thermal power station, considered salable energy produced as a percentage of the heating value of the fuel consumed, is typically 30-40%. Considering all the heat produced by gas and steam turbines, their efficiency is limited and governed by thermodynamics.
The average efficiency of domestic power plants is around 37%. Thermal power stations in Iran account for 80% of total power generation of around 85 gigawatts and therefore improvement of efficiency is crucial.
According to reports, effective steps have been taken to convert conventional plants into combined-cycle units to raise efficiency and reduce pollution and costs.
