TEHRAN – The nominal capacity of electricity generation at Iranian power plants has reached 84,795 megawatts [84.795 gigawatts (GW)], IRNA reported on Wednesday.

As reported, the capacity of renewable power plants (solar and wind), which stood at 219 megawatts (MW) in August 2015, has now increased to 750 MW, indicating a 512MW increase in the course of the mentioned timespan.

Iran’s total power generation capacity stood at 80,000 MW in the past Iranian calendar year 1397 (March 2018-March 2019), up from the 78,484 MW of its preceding year.

According to a report by Tasnim news agency, the country’s power generation capacity is set to reach 85,695 MW by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 2020).

Currently, with a total generation capacity of 25,083 MW (nearly 31 percent) combined cycle power plants account for the biggest share in the country’s total power generation capacity followed by gas power plants generating about 30 percent.

The share of hydroelectric power plants is 19.87 percent while hydroelectric plants generate 14.8 percent of the country’s total electricity, the share of dispersed generation units is 1.5 percent and finally the renewable power plants account only for 0.79 percent of Iran’s total power generation capacity.

In early May, the energy ministry announced that the government plans to inaugurate 22 new power plant units with a total capacity of 3,933 MW in the current Iranian year along with upgrading and increasing the efficiency of existing power plants to add another 461 MW of new capacity.

EF/