The government intends to transfer 80% shares of state-owned power plants to the private sector by 2022, the director general of the planning office of Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company (Tavanir) said.
Speaking at a meeting with the electricity officials in Yazd Province on Wednesday, Fereydoun Fayazmanesh said, “As per law, investment, ownership and management on the supply side, including production and import of electricity for domestic consumption and export, can and will be delegated to non-government organizations, cooperatives and private companies.”
Iran’s nominal electricity generation capacity is 82,000 megawatts and much of it comes from thermal power plants, ISNA reported.
“Currently, over 60% of our thermal power plants are run by the private sector.”
Over the past five years, the government has signed almost $12 billion worth of investment contracts with private firms to develop the key power industry.
About $9 billion of the total envisages construction of thermal power plants and $3 billion for renewable energy.
The country needs to add 22,000 MW to its capacity over the next three years. Under the existing contracts, private companies should contribute close to 16,000 MW to the national power grid by 2022.
Industrial Province
Also speaking at the meeting in the central city, the managing director of Yazd Regional Electricity Company Mohammad Hassan Sabbaghzadegan said Yazd as an industrial province uses 73% of the power it generates for 3,000 industrial units across the province.
The power plants in the province have a total capacity of 2,600 MW. There are more than 300 major industries in the country and 8% are in Yazd Province.
Regarding the new energies, Sabbaghzadegan said six solar power plants are being built in towns and counties including Mehriz, Ardakan, Ashkezar, Khatam and Taft.
“We hope that by the end of the current fiscal in March the capacity of these six power plants will reach 70 MW, he noted.
The hot and dry climate in Yazd is ideal for solar energy. The city, 630 kilometers southeast of Tehran, is situated between two deserts -- Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut. The latter is known as one of the hottest places on earth.
Yazd experiences on average 3,200 sunny hours per year, which clearly shows its potential for solar power.
Domestic and foreign investors have shown interest in the construction of solar energy farms in the province.
Although the share of renewables stands at 670 MW, the Energy Ministry says it has plans to generate 7,500 MW from solar, wind, geothermal and biomass renewable power plants by 2030 with the help of private companies.
