Bandar Abbas Power Plant in Hormozgan Province has succeeded in indigenizing its parts and equipment, the managing director of the provincial Electricity Production Management Company said.
“The power station in recent years has made efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in the field of manufacturing parts with the help of domestic manufacturers,” Darioush Mahmoudi was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
“In the high-pressure air compressor of the power plant, several parts, including connecting rods, HP shafts and pistons, air filters, piston rings, rider rings, inlet valves and bearings, have been indigenized,” he said.
“Air compressors play a key role in the operation and management of power plants. At present, the manufacture and maintenance of high-pressure air compressor parts are thoroughly carried out locally with the efforts of the company's experts and engineers, and without the help of foreign countries.”
Bandar Abbas Power Plant was built by the Italian company Franco Tosi Meccanica and all the required equipment were imported for many years. However, by relying on the potentials of domestic manufacturers and knowledge-based companies, over 90% of the parts and equipment used in the plant are now manufactured inside the country and the remaining parts are also planned to be built domestically in the near future.
Constructed in 1980, the power station is now 43 years old and since it has been operating for over four decades, its parts need repairs or replacement.
The power station has four steam and two gas units with a total capacity of 1,320 megawatts. It is the largest power plant in the south and southeast of the country. It plays a significant role in stabilizing the national electricity network and supplying power to the province.
Development Program
A project to renovate the power plant is underway in Iran. A memorandum of understanding has been signed with the energy and infrastructure conglomerate MAPNA to modernize the facility by installing localized F-class gas turbines and increase its efficiency.
At present, the power plant has an efficiency of 34% and development plans are expected to boost it to 40%.
F-class gas turbines are defined by high performance, low power generation costs, long intervals between inspections and a service-friendly design. Optimized flow and cooling add up to high efficiency and economically viable power generation in combined cycle applications.
Thermal power plants in Hormozgan Province have an installed capacity of over 44,000 MW. Power plants in the province are using indigenous parts and equipment made by domestic manufacturers.
Iran has an installed capacity of 90,000 MW. Thermal units either use steam, gas-powered or combined-cycle turbines and account for 73,000 MW of the total electricity output.
To help cut natural gas consumption as feedstock in power stations and fight the menace of air pollution, the average efficiency of thermal power plants has been boosted by 3% in the last three years.
The improvement has reduced annual gas use in power plants by at least 3 billion cubic meters.
As efficiency increases, less natural gas is used in power stations. An estimated 50 billion cubic meters of gas are consumed annually in Iran’s 129 thermal power plants that produce close to 300 billion kilowatt hours of electricity.
According to a report by Majlis Research Center, a 1% increase in the country's thermal power plant efficiency will save enough money to build a 600-MW power plant.
The energy efficiency of a conventional thermal power station is typically 35%. Combined-cycle systems have higher levels.
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. The waste heat from the gas turbine is sent to nearby steam turbines to generate electricity.
