The first gas unit of Mahshahr Combined Cycle Power Plant in Khuzestan Province will be launched by October, managing director of the Khuzestan Regional Electricity Co. (KZREC) said, Shana reported on Wednesday.
Mahmoud Janghorban said Mapna Group is building a total of four gas units each with 162 megawatt capacity at Mahshahr Power Plant the first of which is slated to come into operation in less than four months. Mapna is a consortium of Iranian companies involved in construction and installation of energy production machinery.
“Launching the next three units will be accelerated once the first unit becomes operational,” Janghorban noted. Sub-station and transmission lines for the power plant are already under construction.
The construction of the combined cycle plant commenced in an area of 100 hectares in 2009. The plant’s power output is expected to reach 968 MW. In addition to four gas units, plans call for building two steam units with a total of 320 MW capacity.
Combined cycle power plants normally use both gas and steam turbines to produce up to 50 percent more electricity from the same fuel than traditional power plants.
The plant is designed to use natural gas as feedstock, while diesel will be secondary. According to published reports, one-third of the country’s natural gas is consumed at power plants, and around 90 percent of electricity is generated with fossil fuels.
The official added that two combined cycle plants in the southern cities of Abadan and Khorramshahr are being built with 815 MW and 1,450 MW capacities, respectively, which will become partially operational by the end of the present Iranian calendar year (March 2016).
Iran’s electricity industry ranks 14th in the world and first in the Middle East in terms of power generation with an installed capacity of more than 72,000 MW.
