Azerbaijan, Baku, July 16 /Trend R.Zamanov/
Iran plans to convert some thermal power plants with the capacity to produce 6,000 megawatt hours of electricity into combined cycle plants by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2014), the Iranian Energy Minister Majid Namjou said on Tuesday.
"Once the projects come on stream, the country would be able to produce 6,000 megawatt hours of electricity without using even one liter of fuel," the IRNA News Agency quoted Namjou as saying.
Namjou had previously said that 12 thermal power plants are supposed to be converted.
"Half of the mentioned plants are owned by the private sector," he added.
The power generation capacity in Iran has grown by 7 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 5,000 MW to its power generation capacity.
Iran plans to boost its electricity generation capacity to reach 73GW, by the end of the Fifth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (March 2016).