ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, Dec. 6
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
Twelve state power stations with a total capacity of 6,511.2 megawatts operate in Turkmenistan, Trend reports referring to the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper.
The agreement signed with the Asian Development Bank on financing of the construction of high-voltage power lines in the Akhal – Balkan and Balkan – Dashoguz directions is intended to help expand the direction of export routes for supplying the Turkmen energy resources to the world markets.
In this regard, the connection of Turkmenistan to the unified Central Asian energy system plays an important role in creating additional opportunities for a great increase in the supply of the Turkmen electricity within the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TUTAP) project.
An increase in the potential of power engineering will also contribute to a further increase in the export of the Turkmen electricity, primarily to Afghanistan. A vivid example is the commissioned Ymamnazar-Andkhoy and Serkhetabat-Herat power lines, which have become an important part of the energy infrastructure of a neighboring country.
More than a year ago, the Rabatkashan-Kalainau transmission line with a capacity of 100 megawatts per hour was put into operation. It opened another direction for the supply of the Turkmen electricity to Afghanistan’s northern regions on favorable terms.
Earlier, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan signed an agreement on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan power transmission line in this regard. In particular, the document outlines the volumes of electricity that will be supplied to Afghanistan through a new power transmission line to Herat (300 megawatts) and Kandahar (300 megawatts) - in total, 600 megawatts. The volumes are planned to be increased up to 1,000 megawatts in the future.
The gas turbine power plants are also part of the power infrastructure, including those built in Ashgabat, Akhal, Balkan, Dashoguz, Lebap and Mary provinces.
A combined cycle power plant was launched in Mary province a year ago. Its total capacity is 1,574 megawatts. Four General Electric gas turbines and two steam turbines, which will increase the volume of electricity export up to three billion kilowatt-hours, were installed here.
Presently, a gas turbine power plant with a capacity of 432 megawatts is being constructed by Japanese Sumitomo Corporation on the territory of Charjou district of the Lebap province.
Three gas turbines with a capacity of 144 megawatts each, which will be supplied by Japanese Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, are planned to be installed in the main building.
Turkmenistan is selling electricity to Afghanistan and Iran. An agreement on supplies to Uzbekistan was signed. Ashgabat is also exploring other prospects for supplies to the markets of the Caucasus, Central and South Asia.
The total volume of electricity generated in Turkmenistan is planned to be increased up to 33 billion kilowatt-hours by 2024, which exceeds the current figures by almost 30 percent.