Plans to build new power plants and wind farms in East Azarbaijan Province in Iran require an investment of $3 billion, Governor General Esmaeil Jabbarzadeh said.
"These plans call for establishing wind farms in East Azarbaijan's Ahar and Sarab counties, while two combined-cycle power plants are to be built in the provincial capital Tabriz as well as Mianeh," Jabbarzadeh was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency on Saturday.
"Overall, the combined power generation capacity of these projects will account for 3,500 megawatts."
The plants' output will be delivered to the regional power grid, while the possibility of power exports to northern neighbors has been anticipated.
The wind farms will be built shortly after receiving the funds and the combined-cycle plants are due for completion 30 months after construction goes underway.
Iran’s power generation capacity stands at 74,000 MW. Around 220 MW are generated from hydroelectric plants and 220 MW via wind and solar units. In addition, $47 million have been allocated in the national budget to develop solar energy by using photovoltaic cells.
According to Jabbarzadeh, combined-cycle plants consume an equivalent of roughly one-20th the energy needed by conventional plants.
A combined-cycle plant uses both gas and steam turbines to produce up to 50% more electricity from the same fuel than a traditional simple-cycle plant.
