A new solar power station in the southeastern Kerman Province has been connected to the national power grid.
Built over two hectares in Qaleh Ganj County, it is the eighth solar farm in the desert province whose first phase has been launched, the Energy Ministry news website Paven reported.
Costing half a million dollars and built by the private sector, the first phase has one megawatt capacity. When fully operational in three months, the plant will have capacity of 4 MW.
It will generate 1,633 megawatt hours of electricity per year and help reduce greenhouse gasses. If the same amount of energy was to be produced by a thermal power plant, 1,371 tons of carbon dioxide would burn annually. Likewise, the plant will save consumption of 560,000 cubic meters of natural gas.
Located in the southeast, Kerman is among the largest provinces in Iran. Having a dry climate, it has sufficient solar radiation and in recent years many solar farms and rooftop photovoltaic systems have been installed there. Launch of the new plant has helped solar capacity in Kerman reach 44 MW.
Five Solar Farms
In western Kermanshah Province, five solar power plants will be built and add 36 MW to the total renewable national capacity.
The West Regional Electric Company has signed contracts with private firms to build the power stations including a 10 MW plant in Sarpol-e-Zahab County, 10-MW farm in Kuzaran City, a 7-MW station in Salas-e-Babajani County, 7-MW plant in Cheshmeh Sefid village of Dalahu County, and 2-MW station in Kangavar County.
Besides curbing environmental pollution, solar energy decreases production costs compared to thermal power plants that have long created serious concern among environmentalists, climate change activists and the common people around the globe.
Of the total 81,000 MW national capacity, 724 MW comes from renewables. According to the latest Energy Minister data, green energy figures show 44% renewable output is from solar, 40% wind power, 13% small hydroelectric plants, 2% geothermal and 1% biomass.
The oil- and gas-rich nation has accelerated efforts in recent years to increase the thin share of renewables in its power mix. The government expects to increase renewable capacity to 5,000 MW by 2022.
Water, Fossil Fuel Consumption
Based on a report by the Energy Ministry, over 3.13 billion kilowatt hours of electricity has been generated from alternative energy sources in the past 10 years, reducing water and fossil fuel consumption.
This volume of clean energy was produced from June 2009 to the present. It helped cut 2.16 million tons of greenhouse gases and 889 million cubic meters of natural gas. It also saved 689 million liters of water.
Currently, 103 plants generate renewable energy and another 42, with a total capacity of 416 MW, are under construction.
Globally there are three key enablers -- price and performance parity, grid integration and technology -- that allow renewable energy sources (notably solar and wind) to compete with conventional sources on price while matching their performance, according to a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency.
Private Sector
Private companies have so far invested over 124 trillion rials ($885 million) in the renewable power industry in Iran.
Due to government funding constraints and financial pressures, private companies have risen to the occasion and are contributing to the promotion of renewable energy in recent years.
Production of one megawatt of solar energy in Iran cost $1.5 million in 2016 but has declined to $600,000 at present.
Lower costs have encouraged private firms to increase investment in solar power and as a result, the share of renewables in the domestic energy mix has increased from 0.2% of total power output three years ago to about 1% now.
Another factor that has helped renewables grow is indigenizing production of equipment and tools. Local companies are now capable of manufacturing more than 85% of the equipment, including photovoltaic panels, cables and transformers.
