The construction of Tabas coal-fired power plant in South Khorasan Province is underway, the head of the Thermal Power Plant Holding Company said.
“We have ordered the boiler of the plant from a foreign country to use higher technology, which will help reduce pollution when it becomes operational,” ISNA also quoted Abdolrasoul Pishahang as saying.
Being the first coal-fired power plant in Iran, it will have a production capacity of 650 megawatts and feed on the nearby Mazino Coalmine that holds more than 600 million tons of in-place coal.
Supplying equipment for the new power plant is the responsibility of Iran’s MAPNA Group and China’s Shanghai Electric.
However, environmentalists have voiced strong opposition to the project, saying that burning coal will worsen pollution and global warming.
Iran pledged in the Paris Climate Conference in 2015 to curb greenhouses gases by 4% by 2030 and raise electricity output capacity from renewables to 7,500 MW.
There is a robust consensus among the world’s respected scientists and experts that coal has a severe environmental impact.
According to reports, coal energy produces a tremendous amount of harmful emissions such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acids that contribute considerably to climate change and global warming.
Nevertheless, proponents of the plan argue that building a coal plant makes sense because “it allows Iran to diversify its sources of energy, which now largely comes from thermal plants using gas".
They also claim that the relatively low cost of power generation from coal justifies such a project.
The Tabas power station is being constructed in Dasht-e Kavir (the Great Salt Desert) in central Iran and will be equipped with advanced pollution-reduction systems, in which suspended particles, produced by coal burning in the furnace, are absorbed by electrostatic filters.
Therefore, all exhaust gases will be in line with environmental standards and the plant will not contribute to air pollution.
When the power plant comes on stream, it will create 1,500 direct and 5,000 indirect jobs, which will help reduce unemployment in South Khorasan and east of the country.
According to the International Energy Agency, coal is both the largest source of electricity generation and the largest single source of CO2 emissions in the world, creating a unique challenge in transitioning to low-carbon energy systems.
Coal supplies just over a third of global electricity generation and, until newer technologies become available, will continue to play a crucial role in industries such as iron and steel.
Global coal-fired generation reached an all-time high in 2021, pushing CO2 emissions from coal power plants to record levels. Despite increased calls from governments and the private sector to phase down or transition away from coal, it accounted for over one-third of total electricity generation.
