Iran: Domestically-Made Turbines to Help Increase Wind Power

“Manufacturing the medium-size turbine can help pave the way for access to much-needed technology to build bigger engines and help harness renewables via access to clean, reliable and affordable energy,” Ahad Zabet was quoted as saying by ISNA.

Harnessing wind power with the help of domestically-produced turbines should be cost-effective, he said, adding that land-based utility-scale wind is one of the lowest-priced energy sources available so far.

Because electricity from wind farms is sold at a fixed price over long periods (20 plus years) and its fuel is free, wind energy mitigates price uncertainty that fuel costs are likely to add to traditional sources of producing energy, according to Financial Tribune.

“Moreover, wind can create jobs and has the potential to support employment in the manufacturing, installation, maintenance and support services,” Zabet said, but did not provide details.

The project to build the 250 KW turbines is sponsored by the Science and Tech Department of the Presidential Office.

Needless to say, transforming kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical power does not pollute the air like power plants that mostly use diesel or natural gas, causing health hazards and economic loss. Wind turbines do not produce atmospheric emissions that cause acid rain, smog, or greenhouse gases.

A typical wind turbine can be broken down into its major components namely blades, nacelle, rotor hub, gearbox, generator, controller, tower and transformers.

Referring to the limited number of wind parks, he expressed the hope that upon completion, the locally-made turbines can help expand the power stations. 

There are only three major operational windfarms in the country located in Manjil, Gilan Province, Siyahpoosh region in Qazvin Province and Aqkand village, East Azarbaijan.

Main Drivers 

Wind energy accounts for 300 megawatts of total renewable capacity. Growth in the wind market was driven by Denmark, Germany and Spain until 2008. More recently, Italy, France and Portugal have also added significant new capacity.

Saving water, reducing power wastage as well as cutting carbon emissions are among other advantages of green energy.

Renewables account for 850 megawatts of total installed power capacity which now is 82 gigawatts.

The gradual expansion of green energy since 2009 has helped Iran save close to 800 million liters of water in 10 years.

Over the last decade close to 3.5 billion kilowatt hours of electricity was generated from renewable sources like wind farms and photovoltaic (PV) stations. For producing the same amount of power with natural gas, close to 1 billion cubic meters of the fuel would be required.

This amount -- 3.5 billion kilowatt hours -- allowed Iran to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2.46 million tons.