Investing in small-scale power plants and improving infrastructure to expand power generation are among opportunities now available to private enterprise, deputy managing director of the Iran Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution Management Company (Tavanir) told ISNA on Wednesday.
Despite the fact that the Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian deems power supply through the Decentralized Generation System (DGS), the production of electricity at or near the point of use, irrespective of size, fuel or technology typically sized between 10-150 MW not economically viable due to fuel provision constraints, Tavanir's Gholamreza Khoshkholgh says centralized models belong to the past.
He argues that power production in the ways of the past "is not viable due to the large-scale investments and deregulation."
It is an uphill task to supply electrical power with high reliability based on conventional systems, he is quoted as saying. The utility industry is expected to shift generation slightly away from the traditional central power station philosophy to DGS or decentralized generation.
Inaugurating the Omid Abbasi small scale 6 MW power plant in Zarqan Industrial Town located in Shiraz County, Fars Province, Iran, Khoshkholgh said, "A contract has been signed with the private sector to build small power plants with a total capacity of 3000 MW of which 410 MW is already on stream and 100 MW will come on stream by the end of June."
Highlighting the 72,000 MW installed power generation capacity in the country, the official said," Electricity consumption peaked at 49,000 MW last year when we had a long hot summer."
Fuel Diversity
Seyyed Mohammad Sahraian, director of Shiraz Electricity Distribution Co. insists that "decentralized electricity generation will reduce capital investment, lower the cost of electricity, reduce pollution, help curb greenhouse gases, and lessen the vulnerability of the power generation systems to extreme weather." It also can be powered by a variety of not only fossil fuels but also renewable energy. Experts believe that dispersed generation reduces power disruptions. Dispersed generation also allows for a uniform distribution of the overall system by responding fast to demand variation.
Dispersed generation offers more flexibility and can be dispatched in incremental blocks of power as needed. It provides reliability and stability to the system. Total failure can be avoided when the load centers are supported by dispersed generation.
While decentralized generation is unlikely to replace central power entirely, the share of decentralized generation in power generation will increase dramatically in the coming years, with important benefits to all segments of the population and significant environmental benefits. While dispersed generators are unlikely to compete with central power stations, customers will be attracted by the desire for reliable power that could be the driving factor for the future of dispersed generation.
