The first 183-megawatt gas unit of Aryan Power Plant in Zanjan Province was linked with the national power grid on Tuesday, the energy minister said.
“Costing $300 million, close to 2.1 million cubic meters of gas will be supplied to the power plant per day,” Ali Akbar Mehrabian was also quoted as saying by ISNA.
The facility, operating at an efficiency rate of 50%, is equipped with MAP2B gas turbines manufactured by MAPNA Group, Iran's top engineering and energy firm, he added.
With a total capacity of 546 megawatts, the thermal power plant has two 183 MW gas units and one 180 MW steam unit.
Operations to complete the second gas unit have concluded and the steam unit is expected to go on stream in 2023.
According to the official, Iran’s thermal power generation capacity has surpassed 71 gigawatts.
When the steam unit comes on stream, the total efficiency of the combined cycle plant will increase from 40% to 52%.
The power plant seeks to enhance electricity production in northwest Iran and responds to the growth of power consumption in the region.
With a population of over 1.1 million, Zanjan is a major tourist attraction. It has a highland climate characterized by extremely cold winters and warm summers.
Average maximum temperature is around 27 degrees centigrade and average minimum temperature hovers around -19 degrees.
Iran’s electricity industry ranks 14th in the world and first in the Middle East in terms of power generation with an installed capacity of 74,000 MW.
