Iran is expected to launch its first thermal solar power plant in 2023, says a senior Energy Ministry official, amid pledges to increase the share of renewables in the country’s electricity generation mix.
CEO of Iran’s Thermal Power Plants Holding Company (TPPH) Mohsen Tarztalab said on Thursday that the new power plant will produce 17 megawatts of clean energy, enough to supply more than 30,000 homes in areas near the central city of Yazd, where it is located.
Tarztalab said that construction of the power plant will start next week as he added that a consortium of Iranian companies will build the facility using finances provided by the TPPH.
Iran has nearly 500 MW of capacity for traditional photovoltaic solar power. The thermal solar, however, uses a new technology that allows storage of the sun’s heat to generate electricity for hours, including at night.
The Iranian Energy Ministry has announced plans to roll out around 10,000 MW of new renewables capacity within the next four years on top of nearly 1,000 MW it is operating currently.
The TPPH is responsible for Iran’s massive thermal power sector which accounts for a bulk of electricity generation in the country at a capacity of over 68,000 MW.
Tarztalab said that his company will not wait for foreign firms to supply the structures and mirrors needed to build the thermal solar plant, adding that much of the work on equipment in the project had been awarded to local companies.
“Building such a modern and complicated power plant inside the country has been made possible thanks to efforts by local knowledge-based companies,” said Tarztalab.
“We hope we can connect the plant to the grid in (Iranian year) 1402 if financial problems are resolved and proper cash flows are made available,” he added.