Zanjan Solar Power Plant Hooked to National Grid

The 7-megawatt solar power plant in Abhar City, Zanjan Province, has been connected to the national power grid.
Built by the private sector on a 14-hectare land, the plant was completed in four months at a cost of $7.3 million, the Energy Ministry’s news portal Paven reported.
Prior to the launch of the plant, there were 42 small-scale solar power stations (with less than 1 MW capacity) running in the northwestern province. Now Zanjan is the 27th province (of the total 31 provinces) equipped with a large-scale (having a capacity of over 1 MW) solar power plant. 
The plant can generate over 11 gigawatt hours of electricity per annum, helping reduce water and fossil fuel consumption.
If this amount of energy was to be produced by thermal power plants, it would annually consume 4 million cubic meters of natural gas and 3 million liters of water. 
The solar power plant will also help cut emission of 10,000 tons of greenhouse gases a year.
All stages of design, equipment and construction of the plant have been carried out by Parto Energy Iranian Development Company. 
With a population of over 1.1 million, Zanjan is a major tourist attraction. It has a highland climate characterized by extremely cold winters and warm summers. Average maximum temperature is around 27 degrees centigrade and average minimum temperature hovers around -19 degrees.
The new power plant is to help meet the rising demand in summer.