TEHRAN – Iranian Energy Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian has said that his ministry is following good plans for developing the country’s power plants, Fars News Agency reported.

“We have very good plans for the development of power plants, which are going operational one after another,” Mehrabian said in an open parliament session on Monday.

Mentioning a plan for the construction of new renewable power plants across the country, the energy minister said: “In the renewable sector, fortunately, the construction of more than 10,000 megawatts (MW) of power plants has been started, and one is being put into operation every day,”

Mehrabian said the ministry is also implementing new programs to expand the country’s power grid to be able to cover the new power plants.

In late December, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi ordered the beginning of a project for the construction of solar power plants with the capacity of 4,000 MW across the country.

Held at the place of the Energy Ministry, the inauguration ceremony was also attended Mehrabian.

As reported, the implementation of this project is going to increase the electricity generation capacity of the country’s renewable power plants to 5,119 MW from the current 1,119 MW.

In this project, private investors are going to construct the mentioned solar power plants based on four separate contracts, including two 1500 MW deals and two 500 MW deals for building a total of 95 solar power plants across the country.

The project is expected to be completed before the next Iranian calendar year’s summer peak period (late June 2024) and will be connected to the national grid to meet part of the country’s electricity needs.

The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA) of Iran invited bids for the construction of 4,000 MW of solar power plants as part of a drive to increase its use of renewable energy and boost the country’s power grid in late 2022.

To this end, 85 companies selected from a pool of 106 applicants were invited to participate in the tender. It followed cooperation agreements signed between governorates and SATBA to decide the sites for setting up renewable power plants in accordance with the needs of each region and province.

As a result, 152 construction sites in 30 provinces were identified and introduced to investors “in the form of 95 baskets” for the construction of power plants at a minimum capacity of 10 MW and a maximum of 250 MW, general manager of SATBA legal affairs office and contracts Ahmadreza Tavakkoli said.

Renewables, including hydropower, account for nearly seven percent of the country’s total energy generation, versus natural gas’ 90 percent share.

EF/MA