The thermal power plants across Iran produced more than 80 million megawatt/hours of electricity during the first quarter of the current Iranian year (March 21-June 21), said a deputy manager at Iran's Thermal Power Plants Holding Company.
“Thermal power stations constitute over 81% of the country's power capacity [90 gigawatts] and they have played a key role in providing sustainable electricity throughout the country during the spring,” Nasser Eskandari was also quoted as saying by the Energy Ministry’s news portal.
“Of the total production, more than 55% came from combined cycle units. Generating more than 44 million megawatt hours of electricity, their production was up 4% compared with the same period of last year,” he added.
The official noted that the share of gas and steam units in electricity production in the three-month period was 18 million megawatt hours each.
“The launch of eight new steam units in the power plants of West Karoun, Asalouyeh, Ferdowsi, Khorramabad, Sabalan, Central South Pars (Besat) and Urmia last year helped increase the generation capacity of environmentally friendly power stations,” he said.
Eskandari stated that converting gas power plants to the combined cycle ones is one of the most efficient ways to improve the efficiency of thermal stations, which is not only good for the electricity industry, but also for protecting the environment and saving fuel consumption.
“We will see its wide-ranging effects in the coming years,” he said.
A combined-cycle power plant is more eco-friendly than conventional power stations, as they emit less greenhouse gases.
Energy from a thermal plant not used for power production is released into the environment in the form of heat.
A combined-cycle power station uses both gas and steam turbines to produce up to 50% more electricity from the same fuel than a traditional simple-cycle plant. Waste heat from the gas turbine is routed to the nearby steam turbine to generate power.
Energy efficiency of a conventional thermal power station, considered salable energy produced as a percentage of the heating value of the fuel consumed, is typically 33-48%. Considering all the heat produced by gas and steam turbines, their efficiency is limited and governed by the laws of thermodynamics.
Effective steps have been taken to convert conventional plants into combined-cycle units to improve efficiency and reduce pollution and costs.
Last Year’s Status
Iran’s 130 thermal power stations generated an estimated 332 billion kilowatt-hours of power in 2022, up 3% compared to a year ago.
Of the total output, steam-powered plants, gas-powered stations and combined-cycle plants generated 83 billion kWh, 69 billion kWh and 181 billion kWh respectively in the period.
Thermal power facilities account for 92% of Iran’s total power demand in summer, but when demand falls, the figure declines to 80%.
Timely repair and maintenance of thermal facilities will help them work at full capacity in the summer. A problem of thermal power plants in Iran is that many have long outlived their usefulness. Power plants built more than half a century ago are still in service, largely due to the government’s inability to replace them under the difficult economic conditions.
Overhaul operations starts every year in September and ends in April of the following year. This year, 583 gas and steam units in 130 power plants have been overhauled, adding 700 megawatts of electricity to their capacity.
Thermal Power Plants Holding Company has signed at least 40 contracts with domestic manufacturers to indigenize much-needed parts and equipment in the power sector.
As per the agreement worth $30 million, knowledge-based firms have been tasked with producing a wide range of equipment, including turbine blades, retaining rings, rotors and compressors.
All the gas turbine blades, which use high technology and were difficult to import due to the US sanctions, have been fabricated by domestic startups.
