2,000 MW of New Power Capacity in Development

Operations to build new thermal power plants in southern provinces with a combined output capacity of 2,000 megawatts are underway as part of efforts to minimize outages, the Thermal Power Plants Holding Company's deputy for planning said.

"As per a government directive issued in 2016, TPPHC was assigned to add 2000 MW of new capacity to the national grid with the help of state funds and the private sector," Hamidreza Azimi was also quoted as saying by IRNA on Tuesday.

Pointing to ongoing ventures in different provinces, Azimi said, "As part of efforts to boost electricity generation through combined-cycle power stations, TPPHC commenced the construction of a 540-megawatt combined cycle power plant in Zahedan, the provincial capital of Sistan-Baluchestan Province."

According to the official, the plant is estimated to cost €300 million ($327 million) in two gas and steam phases.

The gas unit of the power plant will come on stream by September 2018 and its steam unit is scheduled to become operational in November 2019.

Reportedly, three other power plant projects are planned in the province by Turkish energy and construction company Unit International, Parsian Power and Industry Development Company and Ofogh Mehr Tous Company.

"The construction of the 500-megawatt Zarand Combined Cycle Power Plant in Kerman Province has also been going on since the beginning of the current fiscal that started in March," he said, adding that TPPHC has already completed two 25-MW power stations in the northern Mazandaran Province.

Asked about Andimeshk Power Plant that is being renovated with the help of F-class turbines, Azimi said several gas-fired power plants in Bandar Abbas, Andimeshk, Omidiyeh, Hamedan,

Buin Zahra, Salafchegan and Khorramabad are being replaced with combined-cycle plants as part of the drive to help reduce the energy sector's role in air pollution.

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 official also said operations to build Dezful Combined Cycle Power Plant went underway in October.

The 910-megawatt plant will consist of two 305-MW gas units that will run on highly-efficient F-class turbines and a steam unit with 300-MW output capacity.

With an efficiency of 58%, the Dezful plant will be a major step from most Iranian thermal plants with an average efficiency of around 37%.

The plant is slated to be built in three years at an estimated cost of 26 trillion rials (about $650 million). The state-owned TPPHC is the general contractor and Iran's Ghadir Investment Co. is tasked with raising funds for the project.