Iran's waste-to-energy plants can now generate 11 megawatts of electricity daily, the managing director of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (aka Satba) announced.
"Five WTE plants located in the cities of Tehran, Shiraz and Mashhad are currently active, and plans are underway to increase the share of such facilities, following the Energy Ministry's bid to substitute the fossil-fueled power generation with cleaner, environmentally-friendly methods," Mohammad Sadeqzadeh was also quoted as saying by the Energy Ministry's news portal on Saturday.
A waste-to-energy plant is a waste management facility that combusts wastes to produce electricity. This is being increasingly considered a potential energy diversification strategy.
Sadeqzadeh noted that the plants in Tehran also make use of sewage and waste for power generation to help clean the sprawling capital's environment.
Tehran produces 7,000-8,000 tons of garbage daily, a large part of which is used to produce power in waste recycling complexes, while only 200 tons are processed in WTE plants.
The official noted that the government has set a target of processing a portion of waste through WTE plants.
"The Energy Ministry intends to keep the plants up and running by guaranteeing to purchase their output, which comes at nearly double the cost compared to the power generated by conventional [thermal] plants," he said.
The ministry purchases each kWh of electricity produced from incinerating wastes at 3,700 rials ($0.08) by extending a 3,000-rial ($0.06) subsidy.
However, Sadeqzadeh added that the promotion of such plans calls for the better support of authorities responsible for waste management.
"The ministry's move is aimed at helping curb the environmental risks … So, related authorities, including municipalities, should allocate at least double that sum on subsidizing the power generated by WTE plants," he said.
Iran is taking major steps to expand WTE facilities in collaboration with international companies.
According to data by Satba, Iran has the capacity to generate more than 10,000 MW of electricity from biomass (fuel developed from organic materials), with 25 cities capable of generating at least 400 MW of electricity from waste material. Close to 20 million tons of waste are produced annually in Iran.
Pointing to the advantages of incineration plants, Sadeqzadeh said the burning of garbage helps avoid water and soil contamination.
According to studies, an incineration plant with a capacity of 1 MW can reduce carbon dioxide emission by 50,000 tons per year, whereas a wind plant with the same capacity is capable of reducing carbon dioxide emission by 5,000 tons at the most.
Electricity Enhancement
Hossein Sabouri, the chief executive officer of Tehran Province Electricity Distribution Company, said the capital city of Tehran needs to increase electricity generation so as to prevent blackouts, especially in the summer that follows a dry winter.
Sabouri added that as an initiative, the government has appealed to state-owned bodies to use electricity judiciously and also procure at least 20% of their power from cleaner energies.
Although the country's bid to generate cleaner energies is mainly linked to wind and solar sources, the move can be a blessing in disguise for the development of WTE plants.
