German firm building fifth solar power plant in Hamedan
German investors have begun the construction of the ¿fth solar power plant in the western province of Hamedan following successful operation of four other similar stations in Iran.
Announcing this, Naser Mahmoudi, the director general of economic affairs and ¿nance of Hamedan Province said on Monday that German ATUS company has already built and installed four solar power plants in the province and is now working on the ¿fth one, Mehr News Agency reported.
“The solar power plants, all made by German investors, are located in various parts of the province,” he added.
The of¿cial said each German-made solar power generation station has the capacity to produce seven megawatts (MW) of electricity and involves an investment of €8.5 million.
Mahmoudi added that investments in the project were fully met from foreign sources.
ATUS is the second-biggest manufacturer of solar power systems in the world.
Last week, an of¿cial unveiled plans to increase the ef¿ciency of power plants as part of a grand development initiative, saying the Energy Ministry has entered into talks with domestic and international investors to that end. Deputy Energy Minister for Power and Energy Affairs Houshang Falahatian said that the Sixth Economic Development Plan stipulates that new power plants in Iran should operate with an ef¿ciency of at least 55 percent.
The Energy Ministry has also been assigned to improve the ef¿ciency of power plants in operational to limit their harmful emissions and cut fuel consumption, he added.
He further unveiled plans to transform simple cycle power plants in Iran into combined-cycle ones to increase the overall ef¿ciency of electricity generation in the country.
According to Falahatian, the ministry has been in talks with domestic and foreign companies as well as investors in the power plant industry to establish power plants with an ef¿ciency of 55 to 60 percent.
In a combined cycle power plant, a gas turbine generator generates electricity while the waste heat from the gas turbine is used to make steam to generate additional electricity via a steam turbine. Combined cycle power plants are ef¿cient and cost-effective. Iran exports around 12 billion kilowatt-hours (kwh) of electricity to its neighbors each year, while the imports stand at an annual level of 4 billion kwh, Iran’s then energy minister said in November 2015.
In November 2017, Iran took delivery of the second F-class gas turbine from German engineering group Siemens for use at a 600-MW power station under construction in Bandar Abbas. Based on the contract signed with Iran’s energy and infrastructure conglomerate MAPNA, the German group is to supply at least 20 gas turbines as well as associated generators over a period of ¿ve years. The far-reaching agreement signed in March 2016 foresees the transfer of know-how for the F-class gas turbine technology to modernize the Iranian power supply system. It also includes a license for manufacturing F-class gas turbines in Iran.
The ¿rst of the two F-class gas turbines to be used at the Bandar Abbas power station was delivered in September 2016.
The contract covers not only the two SGT5-4000F gas turbines but also two SGEN5-2000H generators and the associated power plant instrumentation and controls. At the time, CEO of the Siemens Power and Gas Division Willi Meixner said that with the delivery of the ¿rst gas turbine to Iran, his group was renewing its longterm partnership with MAPNA to modernize and expand the country’s power supply network. Siemens’ activities in Iran date back to 1868 and involve important infrastructure projects but the German industrial group suspended cooperation with Iran in 2010 due to sanctions.
The new power capacity being installed in Bandar Abbas is suf¿cient to supply electricity to 150,000 Iranian homes. MAPNA plans to expand the facility into a combined-cycle power plant later.
The SGT5-4000F gas turbine has a base power output of 307 MW and has a 40-percent ef¿ciency rating. The SGEN5-2000H hydrogen-cooled, two-pole generator comes with ratings from 350 to 600 mega volt ampere (MVA).