Page 59 - IRANRptOct21

Iran to launch wind farm on border with Afghanistan
Iran’s renewable power plants ‘reach 860 MW in capacity’
“Currency fluctuations and problems related to banking sanctions have complicated efforts to meet the reactor’s operational and maintenance costs and make payments to Russian contractors,” Jafari reportedly said.
Bushehr was developed by Russia. Operational since 2011, it is one of the oldest civilian nuclear power plants in the Middle East.
Most of Iran’s electricity, however, is produced from natural gas. Iran has the second biggest gas reserves in the world.
Russia has agreed to build two more 1-gigawatt nuclear reactors on the site of the existing reactor. The signed deal for the reactors is worth around $10bn, Tehran has said.
The Head of Iran's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organisation (SATBA), Mohammad Satakin, has announced the inauguration of a huge wind farm project on the border of Iran and Afghanistan.
The 25-MWe wind project will be put into operation by the end of March and a further 25 MWe is scheduled to be launched in early 2022.
The construction of this 50-MWe power plant has resulted in development of the region’s infrastructure, including road construction, the construction of high-voltage electricity lines and substations, as well as telecommunication and internet infrastructure, Satakin said.
Noting the readiness of new investors to participate in wind projects in the region, he said: "In addition to this project, another 50-MWe wind farm project is under construction using 4.2 MW turbines, part of which will be completed by the end of this year and the other part will be constructed in early next year.” According to Satakin, with 30,000 MWe potential of wind power capacity, the Iran-Afghanistan border area is one of the world’s most windy regions. “About 25,000 MWe of the capacity is in the Afghanistan territory, while the other 5,000 MWe is on the Iranian side,” he explained.
In November 2020, Satakin had said that over 30 MWe would be added to Iran’s wind power capacity, 60% of which would be supplied by the wind farm on the Iran-Afghanistan border. Iran and Afghanistan started considering joint co-operation in renewable projects in August 2019.
The capacity of Iran’s renewable power plants reached 859.17 megawatts (MW) in the 10th Iranian calendar month (December 21, 2020-January 19, 2021), official news agency IRNA has reported.
Iranian renewable power plants reportedly managed to produce 5.738bn kilowatt-hours (Kwh) of electricity in the Persian month, 50% (426.17 MW) of which was attributed to solar power plants. Wind power plants accounted for 35% (303.18 MW), followed by hydropower plants at 12% (105.65 MW).
In December, Mohammad Satakin, who heads Iran's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA), said the capacity of the country’s renewable power plants was set to reach 1,000 MW (one gigawatt) by the end of the current government’s incumbency in August.
Within the next five years, Iran intends to secure 5,000 MW more in renewable capacity to meet growing domestic demand and expand the Iranian presence on the regional electricity market.
9.1.13 Utilities sector news
Decision by
Pakistan has reportedly decided to enter into negotiations with Iran to
59 IRAN Country Report October 2021 www.intellinews.com