After negotiations with East Asian firms in 2018 to attract investment to decommission decrepit power plants failed due to the US sanctions, the government proposed undertaking contracts with domestic companies.
The average efficiency of thermal power plants has reached 38.1% compared to the global average that is 37%, head of Iran’s Thermal Power Plants Holding Company said.
“Conversion of single-cycle power plants (gas-powered) into combined cycles can help raise the efficiency to 40%,” Mohsen Tarztalab was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Thermal plants account for 80% of Iran’s total power generation (84,000 MW), he said, adding that steam-powered, gas-powered and combined-cycle plants constitute 19 gigawatts, 25 GW and 23 GW of the thermal units, respectively.
Of the total thermal output (67 gigawatts), 25 GW is produced by gas-powered facilities that have efficiency levels of less than 32% and their conversion to combined cycles can help increase thermal power efficiency by 4% and save12 billion cubic of natural gas a year.
