TEHRAN - Director General of the Office of Economic, Social and Environmental Studies at Iran’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (known as SATBA) says the country’s renewable power plants have so far prevented the consumption of 1.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas in thermal power plants.

Electricity generation from renewables in the country has also led to economizing on the consumption of water by over one billion cubic meters, IRNA reported on Sunday, quoting Reza Samadi as saying.

Using of renewable energy sources will also reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and this will significantly reduce air and land pollutioning, Samadi said.

According to the official, the country’s total power generation capacity currently stands at 85 gigawatts (GW), only 840 megawatts of which is produced by renewable power plants.

In late December 2019, SATBA reported that renewable sources prevented the emission of Green House Gases (GHG) in Iran by 3,048 tons during the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 22-December 21).

Based on the report, Electricity generation from renewables in the mentioned period also prevented the consumption of 1.263 billion cubic meters of fossil fuels in the country.

As reported, currently, 377 MW capacity of renewable power plants are under construction across the country and the installed capacity of such power plants has reached 849 MW.

The data also indicates that so far, 118 MW capacity of large-scale power plants are installed in the country and another 37 MW are under construction.
Renewables, including hydropower, account for just six percent of energy generation, versus natural gas’ 90 percent share.

Overall, in the next five years, Iran is aiming for a 5,000 MW increase in renewable capacity to meet growing domestic demand and expand its presence in the regional electricity market.

According to SATBA, the number of small scale solar power plants across the country which are used by households or small industries is being increased noticeably as Iranian households and small industries have embraced the new technology with open arms and investors also seem eager for more contribution in this area.

EF/MA