First phase of the first geothermal power plant will be launched in winter, the managing director of Thermal Power Plants Holding Company said at the weekend.
Located near the city of Meshkin Shahr in Ardebil Province, the plant has a total capacity of 40 megawatts. With 5 MW of electricity, the first phase will be operational by the yearend, the energy ministry news website Paven reported Mohsen Tarztalab as saying.
“More than $2 million have been spent so far on the plant ,” he said, adding that as the first geothermal power plant in the Middle East, it can serve as a model for other countries in the region.
Eleven wells have been drilled on the site at a depth of 3,500 meters. Almost 80% of the equipment including turbines and generators have been bought and delivered to the site.
Geothermal power plants use steam produced from reservoirs of hot water found hundreds of meters below the Earth's surface. The steam rotates a turbine that activates a generator that produces electricity.
Geothermal power is considered a renewable resource because its source is the unlimited amount of heat generated by the Earth's core.
Unlike thermal units that burn fossil fuel, geothermal plants produce little emissions. Carbon dioxide emission from geothermal power stations is less than 5% of conventional coal-fired plants.
Using geothermal also eliminates the need for mining, processing, and transportation required for electricity generation from fossil fuel.
Heat from the Earth, or geothermal energy is accessed by drilling water or steam wells in a process similar to drilling for oil.
The plant will be expanded to provide geothermal heating to areas in the northwestern province for domestic and industrial purposes.
It is located at the skirts of the volcanic Sabalan Mountain in Ardebil, which attracts millions of tourists every year for its famed hot springs believed to have health benefits.
With huge hydrocarbon reserves, Iran’s power industry is based largely on oil and gas.
Over the past years, it has strived to invest in renewables, which now account for 1000MW of the total installed capacity at around 81 gigawatts.
As of 2015, worldwide geothermal power capacity amounted to 12.8 gigawatts. Geothermal electricity is produced in 24 countries and geothermal heating is used in 70 countries.
