Untapped Capacity in Iran's Thermal Power Plants

Capturing and recycling the waste heat in thermal power plants can raise Iran's electricity generation capacity from installed power stations by 3,500 megawatts, head of Iran's Energy Efficiency Organization (SABA) said. "There is potential to boost electricity output by 3,500 MW without constructing new power plants. This requires recycling the waste heat in thermal plants," said Seyyed Hossein Sajjadi, the chief executive officer of SABA which is a subsidiary of the Energy Ministry, Moj News Agency reported on Thursday. As part of efforts to harvest the untapped capacity, the government is taking measures to turn some of the conventional and aging power stations into combined-cycle units that have significantly higher efficiency. A combined-cycle power plant uses both gas and steam turbines to produce up to 50% more electricity from the same fuel than a traditional simple-cycle plant. The waste heat from the gas turbine is routed to the nearby steam turbine, which generates extra power.