Tehran, Iran, Feb.3
Trend:
Iran’s power production capacity over the past four decades has increased in the world ranking from 38 to 14, said Iran’s Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian.
"The current power production capacity of Iran is 80,000 megawatt, rising 11.4 percent over the past 40 years. The network peak has reached 57,090 megawatt,” he said, Trend reports citing IRNA.
The minister noted that power consumption in the country has increased by 16.4 percent, accounting for industry, agriculture and domestic consumption.
As for renewable energy, Ardakanian said the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant produces 1,000 megawatt of energy, while the country's policy is to boost the capacity of nuclear plants. “The government plans to increase the capacity of nuclear power plants to 5,000 megawatt."
The minister noted that private companies have good opportunities for operating in power industry and today, the number of active private companies in this sphere has increased from 65 to 875.
The official noted that Iran’s joining the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) would create an opportunity to export goods, including electricity.
Referring to the foreign currency fluctuation and its effect on renewable energy, Ardakanian said that fortunately, the launch of exchange systems and thanks to the government support, the country moves towards development of renewable energy, attracting foreign and domestic investors.
"Today 65 percent of Iran’s power industry accounts for the private sector and it is on the verge of big transformation that means vast capacities and bigger markets,” he said.
The minister also noted that the capacity of Iranian dams has increased from 13 billion cubic meters to 52 billion cubic meters.