Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company (Tavanir) has devised plans to increase electricity production from power plants with distributed generation (DG) system to 900 MW in the fiscal year that started in March.
“Over the past years, Tavanir has increased power output from DG plants to 700 MW, which we hope will reach 900 MW this year,” Arash Kordi, Tavanir’s managing director, was quoted as saying by ISNA.
Distributed generation, or DG, refers to electricity that is produced in small quantities near the point of use. It reduces the cost, complexity and inefficiency associated with transmission and distribution, while offsetting peak electricity demand and stabilizing the local grid.
As Iranian Energy Ministry's plan is to curb power outages and put an end to building huge conventional power plants, constructing distributed generation plants tops the ministry's agenda. It has also urged the private sector to invest in small-scale power projects nationwide.
But some private investors believe investment in smaller units has more disadvantages than benefits as it could lead to the import of turbines with short life cycles and low efficiency.
They say the process will not only result in fuel wastage, but also waste of investment in the sector. Kordi also stressed that delivering electricity to villages is one of the industry’s main missions in line with the Resistance Economy, a set of policies proposed by the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei to counter the sanctions and improve domestic industries.
The official added that by supplying power to 490 villages in the current year, all the villages with at least five households will have access to electricity. He described the present status of the power industry as “critical”, noting that in the past three months, the sector has been suffering due to lack of funding.
Nominal power generation capacity in Iran stands at around 74,000 MW, with 61,000 MW coming from thermal power plants, 12,000 MW from hydroelectric plants and hardly 1,000 MW from the sole nuclear power plant in Bushehr.
