Iran among top 10 thermal energy generators
Iran has an installed capacity of thermal power generation of 64 megawatts (MW) which makes the country the ninth in the world in the field, an official said, adding that there are 123 thermal plants active across the country.
“There are 123 units of thermal power plants in the country, 42 of which are run by government units, 60 by the private sector, and 21 by large industries,” said the Director General of Iran’s Thermal Power Company Mohsen Tarztalab at a meeting with managers of the country’s power plants in Tehran, Fars News Agency reported.
The installed capacity of the country’s power plants is 81,000 MW, of which 64,000 MW are produced by thermal power plants, 16,000 MW by steam units, 25,355 MW by gas-fired units, and 23,000 MW by units of combinedcycle.
Tarztalab said that 10 percent of the country’s power plants are over 40 years old, and 61 percent of the country’s power plants are under 20 years old.
Late in February, a private sector company started constructing a 25-MW thermal power plant in Iran’s northern province of Golestan, where another private enterprise is seeking permit for constructing a 100-MW power plant.
The construction operation of a small thermal power plant, with a capacity of 25-MW, started in Aqqala in Golestan Province.
According to the head of the Golestan Power Distribution Company, Ali Akbar Nasiri, the project is envisaged to go on stream with an estimated cost of €12 million in cooperation with a foreign investor.
One million euros of the project have been financed by a foreign investor, he added, but did not provide further details.
The official further said another investor has expressed readiness to build a 100-MW power plant in Azad Shahr, near Aqqala.
The proposal is being studied by the provincial power distribution company, he added.
Iran is currently supplying Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan with electricity, CEO of Tavanir Company Mohammad Hassan Motavalizadeh said on January 4.
He said that the bulk of electricity that Iran is currently exporting to other countries is too little compared to the volume generated, adding that the country presently has the potential to double the bulk of its exports.
The official said that the major importer of Iran’s electricity is Iraq, followed by Afghanistan and Pakistan.