Iran’s energy security is at stake not only due to lack of a diverse energy mix but also because of the Oil Ministry’s inability to supply thermal power stations with sufficient natural gas, a professor at Sharif University of Technology said.
“The construction of thermal power plants must come to an end, as there are much better alternatives to generate power, one of which is renewable resources that are found in abundance in this country,” ILNA also quoted Hashem Oraee as saying.
“The more gas-powered facilities are built, the more problems will be created as Iran’s natural gas output capacity will not change over the next decade,” he added, noting that the diversification of Iran’s energy mix should be a top priority, otherwise power cuts and gas shortage will be a norm despite massive investment.
Simply put, the diversification of energy supply is a great way to strengthen energy security of any nation. In order to attain a long-term and sustainable energy strategy, the diversified portfolio of energy sources could prove to be an asset. As the saying goes, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” and the power sector is not an exception.
“Thermal power plants account for 90% of Iran’s electricity production that is a recipe for disaster as the moment power stations are not supplied with adequate gas, power generation will be adversely affected and they have to burn mazut that contributes to air pollution and the vicious cycle will continue forever,” he said.
Oraee, who also heads the Renewable Energy Union, noted that although the cost of setting up solar and wind farms has been on a downward spiral across the world in the past few years, the trend has been reversed in Iran, which explains why the field attracted no investment in the past four years.
Economic Sense
The professor said it makes no economic sense that the cost of generating one kilowatt of thermal power is $600, while the same volume of power from a wind farm costs $750.
“If decision-makers had invested in renewable projects, there would have been neither gas shortage nor power cuts. Natural gas could be either exported or given to petrochemical plants for conversion to value-added commodities, instead of being burnt in thermal power plants,” he added.
Referring to frequent power outages in the summer, which are likely to continue in the winter, Oraee said there is no quick fix for the problem and even if policymakers shift their attention to renewables and adequate investment can be attracted, the Energy Ministry will need at least four years to overcome the power shortage that afflicts both households and industries.
According to the professor, who also chairs the Wind Energy Scientific Society, consuming unlimited volumes of oil derivatives and gas for heating and not converting it to value added products amounts to wasting national resources and imposing a heavy burden on future generations.
“Substituting oil and gas with clean energy and using green power should be prioritized, among other things, to get rid of the costly, wasteful and unsustainable energy subsidies,” he added.
Oraee also believes that investing in nuclear energy is a wrong policy, as Iran does not access the technology that makes the country dependent on others.
Moreover, the construction of nuclear facilities need massive investment ($4,000 to produce 1 kilowatt hour of electricity) that is 50 times more than generating the same amount of power in thermal power plants.
The professor pointed out that shifting to renewables is fast becoming a norm in most countries (including oil-rich states), as they face massive ecological problems, namely global warming exacerbated by fossil fuels.
Expanding Green Power
In Iran, the authorities still insist on building more thermal power plants and raising their efficiency from 20-30%, while neglecting the expansion of green energy.
Iran's installed power capacity is 90 gigawatts, of which less than 1 GW comes from renewables such as solar and wind.
Iran’s northwestern neighbor Turkey is increasing electricity production from renewables, which account for 13 gigawatts of the country's total power output of 89 GW.
This is while India’s renewable capacity is said to be 79 GW and Japan 32 GW, while the UAE generates 15% or 8 GW of power from green resources.
“Iran’s annual gas consumption in the household sector has surpassed 200 billion cubic meters. Moving toward renewable energy can help reduce it to 40 bcm,” Oraee said and complained that those who devise the energy policy in Tehran remain oblivious to simple arithmetic.
“Almost 98% of Iran’s power production come from oil derivatives and gas. This is while most countries are revising energy policies and moving toward renewables to reduce their CO2 footprint, costs and healthcare bills, in order to save the resources for future generations. Failure to do so [divesting from fossil fuel] will exacerbate Iran’s energy crisis and make it irreversible,” he warned.
