Iran to build 10,000 MW of power plants
Iran’s outgoing government has given approval to install more than 10,000 megawatts of new power capacity by the industrial sector, an energy official said.
Amid a series of power outages this month across the country, the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade, and the industrial sector put an official request with the Ministry of Energy for investment in thermal power plants, head of Thermal Power Plants Holding Company (TPPH) Mohsen Tarztalab said, according to Press TV.
“We received their official request four days ago and, today, a permit was issued for the construction of these combined cycle power plants so that the industrial sector, which is the most energyintensive part of the country, can build power plants for itself,” he said on Tuesday.
Hence, the construction of 10,536 MW of power plants was entrusted to the industrial sector, Tarztalab said, adding that it will require six billion euros of investment, and take three years to build.
According to Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian, Iran produces 60,000 MW of electricity – 50,000 MW thermal and 10,000 MW hydro – “provided that all dams are full and all thermal power plants operating”.
However, premature heat resulting in a 5-degree Celsius warming in the first month of spring, combined with a drought led to a sharp drop in output from hydropower plants.
The searing hot and dry summer has seen the mercury reaching highs of more than 50 degrees Celsius in the city of Ahvaz in southern Iran and consumers cranking up air conditioners.
Moreover, the craze for crypto currency mining has put increasing strain on electrical grids. According to Ardakanian, about 320 MW have been allocated to licensed crypto mining, but estimates put the use of electricity by illegal energy-guzzling machines at over 2,000 MW.
Iran has stepped up a crackdown on the illegal mining of crypto currencies. Last month, Tehran’s police chief said 7,000 computer miners had been seized in an abandoned factory in west of the capital, in one of the largest hauls.
The intensity of electricity consumption grew in the last days of June, hitting an all-time record of 66,000 MW, which caused large blackouts across the country.
However, the situation has stabilized in recent days and outages have become rare.
Iran’s new power generation plans have been put on the back burner under the most draconian sanctions imposed on the country by the United States.
Nevertheless, renewable energy is booming in Iran. Last year, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said Iran dominated the Middle East’s renewable production capacity, which rose 13 percent to 22,710 MW in 2019.
Iran accounted for 57 percent of the Middle East’s total in 2019, and 63 percent in 2018, the agency said in a report.
The country’s plan is to install 5,000 renewables by 2022, according to officials.
Scientific studies suggest that Iran can increase electricity generation from renewables to 80,000 MW, of which around 80 percent can come from the solar energy.