Hormoz Combined Cycle Power Plant in the Persian Gulf Mining and Metal Industries Special Economic Zone in southern Hormozgan Province, went on stream on Saturday increasing the number of power plants in Bandar Abbas to four, managing director of PGMISEZ said.
The plant has a total production capacity of 235 megawatts. It has a 160MW gas unit and a 75MW steam unit, IRNA quoted Hassan Khalaj-Tehrani as saying.
Construction of the plant started in December 2014. The project, funded by Ghadir Oxin Power Development Company, will provide power to local industries in the zone, especially aluminum industries.
Khalaj-Tehrani said the plant was built at a cost of $65 million.
Hormozgan Province Gas Company provides the fuel required for the plant. Twenty million cubic meters of gas is supplied to the plant daily via a 30-inch pipeline.
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 sent to a nearby steam turbine, which too generates electricity.
According to reports, effective steps have been taken in recent times to convert conventional plants into combined-cycle units. Iran's top engineering and energy conglomerate MAPNA Group has said it is considering the conversion of all its single cycle power plants into combined cycles.
Persian Gulf Mining and Metal Industries Special Economic Zone off the western side of the port city of Bandar Abbas, boasts massive reserves of oil and gas, proximity to iron ore mines as raw material for the steel industry and access to international waterways.
It also has the advantages of other Iranian special/free economic zones, namely tax holidays and customs exemptions to attract and promote domestics and foreign investment.
