For the first time in Iran, treated wastewater will be used instead of potable water in cooling towers at the Shahid Mofateh Thermal Power Plant (SMTPP) in Hamadan, and upon completion of the project it is estimated that 700 megawatt (MW) will be added to the national electricity grid, Mehr news agency quoted Farhad Shabihi, managing director at the Bakhtar Regional Electricity Co. (BREC) as saying Tuesday.
Elaborating on long-term plans to replace treated wastewater with drinking water in power plants throughout the country, he said," The first treated wastewater transmission project to supply water to the cooling towers is now underway in the Shahid Mofateh plant."
"The project has made 65 percent physical progress," Shabihi reiterated, adding that it is for the first time, the energy ministry is implementing a project to help address the worsening water crisis in the country and the scarcity problem in SMTPP in Hamedan in western Iran. The Hamedan Regional Water Co. and BREC have signed a $16 million contract according to which the former will receive 15 million cubic meters of water a year.
The official said a unique advantage of such projects is that it helps reduce environmental degradation as wastewater normally causes contamination. "Curbing water consumption under present critical conditions is a must, more so because for years Iran is grappling with vanishing underground water tables. Recent reports said almost "90 percent of such water tables across the country are now dry due to overuse."
Despite a variety of all complications, including unavailability of special taps and pipes as well as convincing farmers to lay water pipes in their farms, Alireza Sheikhi the project manager noted, "close to 43 kilometers of pipes have been laid so far and there are plans to effectively address other pending issues."
Shahid Mofateh Thermal Power Plant Iran is located at 47 km northeast of Hamadan Iran. Its infrastructure is of the TYPE Oil Power Plant with a design capacity of 1000 MW. It has 4 units. The first was commissioned in 1995 and the last in 1997.
Iran’s electricity industry ranks 14th in the world and first in the Middle East in terms of electricity generation with an installed power generation capacity of 72,000 MW. The country is the largest exporter and importer of electricity in the Middle East and exports electric power to Armenia, Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Azerbaijan and Armenia supply electricity to Iran under a swap agreement.
