A gas unit of the Hormoz Combined Cycle Power Plant in southern Hormozgan Province has been connected to the national grid, said the director of private power plant projects at the Thermal Power Plants Holding Company.
Located in the Persian Gulf Mining and Metal Industries Special Economic Zone in Bandar Abbas, the power plant is now producing 160 megawatts, Mehdi Khabbazpisheh said.
According to Paven, the Energy Ministry news portal, construction of a $123 million 75MW steam unit is also underway at the plant and is scheduled to come online by 2021.
With the new plant partially operational, there are now four power stations in Bandar Abbas, an important port city.
Construction of the plant started in December 2014. The project, funded by Ghadir Oxin Power Development Company and the National Development Fund of Iran, will provide power to local industries in the special zone, namely to aluminum industries.
Hormozgan Province Gas Company provides fuel to the plant. Twenty million cubic meters of gas is supplied on a daily basis.
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 to convert conventional plants into combined-cycle units to improve efficiency and reduce pollution and costs.
The Persian Gulf Mining and Metal Industries Special Economic Zone, off the western flank of the port city, boasts massive reserves of oil and gas, proximity to iron ore mines (as raw material for the steel industry) and easy access to international waterways.
