TEHRAN – A large wind farm, with the capacity of generating 50-megawatt electricity, was inaugurated in the east of Iran by the country’s Minister of Energy Ali Akbar Mehrabian.

Mil Nader power plant is equipped with twenty 2.5-megawatt turbines.

The mentioned power plant, which is the biggest wind farm in the eastern part of the country, was put into operation during the visit of the energy minister to the southern province of Sistan-Baluchestan.

With the capacity of generating 50-megawatt electricity, Mil Nader Wind Farm is equipped with twenty 2.5-megawatt wind turbines of Type II. The construction operation of the wind power plant started in 2020.

As large as about 1,000 hectares, Mil Nader Wind Farm is located in Nimruz County, Northwest of Zabol in Sistan-Baluchestan province.

Upon the construction operation of this power plant, more than 250 million liters of water and 30 million liters of diesel will be saved annually with the generation of every 100 megawatts of the renewable energy.

According to the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization of Iran (SATBA), it is envisioned that up to 700 megawatts of electricity will be generated in Mil Nader region in the coming years.

The development of renewable power plants in Iran has accelerated since the current government administration took office in August 2021.

The Energy Ministry in the 13th government has defined new investment packages and strategies to attract more capital to fund new renewable projects across the country.

According to energy experts, such investment models in the 13th government have been a good incentive for investing in this sector.

The mentioned measures led to the capacity of the country’s renewable power plants reaching 1,085 MW, which is a very good figure.

Last July, SATBA Head Mahmoud Kamani said the capacity of renewable power plants is increasing regularly and daily in the country.

Putting the under-construction power plants into operation will further increase this capacity, Kamani said.

In mid-November 2023, the spokesperson of the Iranian Energy Ministry’s electricity sector said that the necessary preparations have been made for the construction of renewable power plants with a total capacity of 6,900 megawatts (MW) across the country.

Mostafa Rajabi-Mashhadi put the current nominal capacity of the country’s renewable power plants at 1,090 MW, saying that the ministry plans to add 5,400 MW to the capacity of the mentioned power plants across the country over the current Iranian calendar year (started in late March 2024).

Rajabi-Mashhadi, who is the head of Iran Grid Management Company, expressed hope that with the increase in the share of renewable power plants in the country’s electricity network, the use of fossil fuels will decrease in thermal power plants.

In mid-December 2023, the head of SATBA called on the country’s private investors to participate in the construction of 4,500 megawatts (MW) of solar power plants over seven months.

“The construction of 4,500 megawatts of solar power plants can be carried out by investors within seven months because the necessary infrastructure has been provided and the government supports the plan,” Kamani said in a meeting with the private companies active in the energy sector.

Emphasizing that the construction of 11,000 MW of renewable power plants has been put on the agenda for the next two years to solve the problem of fuel and electricity imbalance in the country, he continued: “A special work is being done and the top authorities of the country are collaborating to facilitate the construction of renewable power plants in the country.”

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