Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov.1/ Trend F.Karimov/
Iran plans to invest 120 trillion rials, about $4.8 billion based on the US dollar official exchange rate of 24,900 rials, in improving the efficiency of power plants in the current Iranian calendar year which ends on March 20, 2014, ISNA quoted Iranian Deputy Energy Minister Houshang Falahatian as saying.
In the current year, 600 wind power plants will be constructed by the private sector he said, adding that new investments will be made to expand solar power plants.
Plans are underway to boost the national power generation capacity by 8000 megawatts (MW) and increase the output of gas power plants from 31 per cent to 45 per cent, he explained.
Power generation capacity in Iran has grown by seven per cent annually during the past 10 years. The figure has averaged 3.5 per cent in the world.
Iran currently trades power with Turkey, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq. In an effort to diversify its destination markets, Iran plans to export electricity to Europe and Africa.
Tehran seeks to become a major regional exporter of electricity and has attracted more than $1.1 billion in investments for the construction of three new power plants.
Based on the Fifth Five-Year Economic Development Plan, Iran should annually add 5000 MW to its power generation capacity.
The country plans to boost its electricity generation capacity to reach 73GW by the end of the Fifth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (March 2016).