Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 3
By Farhad Daneshvar – Trend:
Implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA aka nuclear deal) has apparently paved the way for Iran to renew its power sector through foreign investment.
Since last year’s nuclear deal inked between Iran and the world’s major powers, multinational companies have demonstrated a considerable interest in investing in various markets of the Islamic Republic, including the power sector.
Iranian energy officials apparently seek foreign investment to construct new power plants and increase the efficiency of the existing power plants.
The Thermal Power Plants Holding Company (TPPH) of Iran has recently announced that the country is in talks with foreign firms to conclude worth of $6 billion investment deals.
The construction of a 5,000 megawatts (MW) power plant with an estimated investment of 2.5 billion euros is among the most important projects of the Iranian power sector.
Iran hopes to launch the first phase of the project in the southern port city of Bandar-e Abbas over the next fiscal year (to start March 20, 2018) in collaboration with MAPNA Group, an Iranian enterprise operating in construction and development of thermal power plants, and foreign investors.
According to TPPH, the foreign partners of MAPNA are expected to provide 85 percent of the required financial resources for the project.
In the meantime, Unit International is expected to finance and participate in a project worth of 1.25 billion euros for construction of two combined-cycle power plants with a capacity of generating 2,080 MW of power.
Russia is also among those investors planning to cooperate with Iran in the construction and financing of a thermal power plant with a capacity of 1,400 MW in the southern province of Hormozgan. The whole project is valued at about 1.5 billion euros and the Russian side is expected to bring about 1.2 billion euros in investment.
The Sirik power plant located in Hormozgan Province is projected to come on stream over the next five years.
The Rey power plant in Tehran Province is awaiting Japanese funds to double its current capacity of 1,000 MW and increase its efficiency to 60 percent.
China’s Shanghai Electric is in talks with Iran to construct the Tabas power plant with a capacity of 650 MW in central Iran. The project is estimated to cost 4.5 billion yuan.
Nominal electric generation capacity in Iran has increased by 680 MW to 77,108 MW since the beginning of current Iranian fiscal year.
Gas power plants (27,258 MW) share 35.35 percent of the generation capacity, while the shares of combined-cycle (19,470 MW) and steam power plants (15,829 MW) account for 25.25 and 20.53 percent, respectively.
Hydroelectric (11,811 MW) and Bushehr nuclear power plants’ (1,020 MW) nominal electric generation capacities are equal to 15.32 and 1.32 percent of the country’s electric generation capacity, while the share of the renewables stands at only 0.39 percent or 301 MW.
Iran plans to increase its nominal electric generation capacity to 80,000 MW by summer 2018.