Iran bringing on line first geothermal power plant in West Asia

Iran is finishing the construction of a first geothermal power plant in the West Asia region as the country moves ahead with plans to diversify its energy supplies.

Deputy CEO of Iran’s Thermal Power Plants Holding Company (TPPH) said on Wednesday that the geothermal power plant in the northwestern province of Ardabil is 93% complete.

Mehran Golabkesh, who was touring the plant located 25 kilometers to the south of the city of Meshginshahr, said that a first pilot phase of the plant with a capacity to produce 5 megawatts (MW) of electricity will come on line until late March.

Golabkesh said the Iranian government had spent 3 trillion rials ($5 million) on the construction of the geothermal plant, saying it will have a total electricity generation capacity of 250 MW once it is completed.

He said the plant receives the heat energy it needs from several wells dug into a depth of 3,000 meters.

“The execution of this project allows our country to access the technology to discover, design, implement and use geothermal resources,” said the official.

Golabkesh said that the launch of the power plant near Meshginshahr is aimed at boosting the infrastructure in an area which is a major tourism center in northwest Iran.

A geothermal power plant uses the earth's own heat, instead of the heat produced from burning fossil fuels, to produce steam to spin electricity generation turbines.

Iran introduced a plan in 2021 to build 10,000 MW of new renewable capacity in four years. The country has built multiple solar plants and wind farms in the past three years.

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