TEHRAN - A solar farm with the capacity of generating 250 kilowatts per hour of electricity came on stream in Tehran on Saturday.

The farm, which is equipped with a photovoltaic (PV) system, was established at a cost of over 17 billion rials (about $450,000). Its establishment was one of the four projects which came on stream costing nearly 58 billion rails (about $1.56 million) in Tehran over the past year.

It should be noted that a solar tracking system is installed in the PV system that boosts its annual efficiency by 40 percent compared to a fixed solar system.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the solar farm, Iranian Deputy Energy Minister Houshang Falahatian said the development of solar farms in Tehran is a necessity for the capital city.

“We are planning to establish such solar farms, which are equipped with the photovoltaic systems, in other cities of the country as well,” the official told the Tehran Times.

*** ‘Ground laid for investment in Iran’s clean energy projects’

A very proper ground has been laid in Iran to attract investment for the establishment of solar and also wind farms in the country, Falahatian stated.

He said: “We have prepared very good condition for the Iranian and foreign companies that intend to make investment in the establishment of solar and wind farms in Iran, in a way that we make a deal with them to guarantee the purchase of generated electricity for a period of 20 years.”

Many Iranian and foreign companies are declaring their readiness to make investment in this field, he highlighted.

The deputy energy minister went on to say that the Iranian power industry plans to take the advantage of private sector and also foreign companies’ investment in the new condition (once the West-engineered sanctions are lifted against Iran) to establish infrastructures required for the better supply of electricity in the country.

*** ‘Iran can build power plants relying on its own capabilities’

Elsewhere in his remarks, Falahatian said Iran can build power plants just through relying on own its domestic capabilities.

“If it was not so, we could not have supplied required electricity in the country during the sanctions time. But we could make it and we are even progressing more and more in this due”, he noted.

Over 95 percent of power transmission grids are domestically built in the country; the official announced, adding that Iran is also self-sufficient in manufacturing its power distribution equipments.

*** ‘Electricity accounts for 90% of Iran’s technical, engineering export’

Electricity services account for 90 percent of Iran’s exports of technical and engineering services, Falahatian informed.

“Iran’s annual exports of technical and engineering services stood at $3 billion on average in the recent years, of which over $2.7-2.8 billion has been from the power sector,” he highlighted.

The figure could even rise by ten folds, the official asserted, expressing hope that this target would be materialized in the post-sanctions time.

Iran has the potentiality to generate 40,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity from solar and wind resources, according to Falahatian.   

The current total electricity generation capacity of solar and wind power plants stand at 250 MW in the country.  
 
Last month, Akbar Adibfar, the managing director of Renewable Energies Company, a subsidiary of Iran’s MAPNA Group, said solar resources have the capacity to cover for Iran’s total electricity demand.

Recently, many European countries have shown interest to invest in Iran’s renewable energies, the official said, adding that Iran enjoys high potentials in using renewable resources due to its topographical features. 

Iran’s renewable energy potential is huge, where only the wind capacity is estimated at 30,000 megawatts.  


CAP:

Photovoltaic (PV) solar system with the capacity of generating 5.13 kilowatts per hour of electricity was put into operation in Tehran on January 9.
Iranian Deputy Energy Minister Houshang Falahatian speaking in a ceremony to inaugurate a 250-KW solar farm in Tehran on January 9