A total of 275 small-scale power plants with a distributed generation system and a capacity 1,100 megawatts, are operational across the country, which show an 8% growth compared with the same time of last year.
Last year (ended March 20, 2022), small-scale power stations generated 7.4 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and accounted for more than 2% of electricity production in the country.
Considering their growth this year, it is predicted that in the hot days of the coming summer, they will help increase power production so that there will be no outages in any region.
These power plants are scattered across the country. The construction of such facilities is economically justifiable, especially in the underprivileged regions.
Currently, Tehran, Isfahan and Mazandaran provinces have the most installed small-scale units (with a maximum capacity of 25 MW) among the 31 provinces.
Tehran and Sistan-Baluchestan provinces have the highest (370 MG) and lowest (10 MW) DG capacities, respectively.
The advantages of DG systems include reduction of losses in transmission and distribution networks, elimination of the need for transmission network, simultaneous generation of electricity and heat, and lower emission of hazardous pollutants.
DG or on-site generation is electricity produced in small quantities near the point of use, as alternative or supplement to traditional centralized grid-connected power.
It reduces the cost and complexity associated with transmission and distribution, while helping offset peak electricity demand and stabilizing the national grid.
As the Energy Ministry's plan is to stop building costly and conventional power plants, the construction of distributed generation plants has now become a priority.
The Energy Ministry buys electricity under a guaranteed five-year purchase scheme. To encourage investors in summer when consumption peaks, each kilowatt hour of electricity produced via DG power plants is purchased at a rate eight times higher than the tariff for power produced in thermal stations.
One kilowatt-hour of power is bought at about one cent from thermal power plant owners.
Power from distributed generation has a wide range of application like supplying electricity to remote rural areas, providing backup to customers in the event of grid failure and supporting power during peak demand to help reduce network load.
