Khuzestan Combined-Cycle Power Plant Set for Launch Next Summer

EghtesadOnline: Gas units of Veys Combined-Cycle Power Plant in Khuzestan Province will come on stream in the summer of 2021, director of CCPP projects at the Thermal Power Plants Holding Company said.

News ID: ۷۵۱۳۱۵

21 October 2020

Located 20 km from Ahvaz-Masjed Soleyman Road, the plant has a capacity of 906 megawatts and is among the first to use F-class gas turbines.

“Veys Power Station is one of the eight plants using F-class turbines, with  5,000 MW capacity, built to meet the energy needs of industrial, mining and residential units in the region and create jobs,” the Energy Ministry news portal Paven quoted Alireza Nasrollahi as saying.

The energy and infrastructure conglomerate Mapna is in charge of the design, construction, equipment supply, site transportation, installation, testing and commissioning of two gas units each with 307 MW capacity and a steam turbine with a capacity of 292 MW.

On completion, the plant will supply electricity to 150,000 homes in the southern province off the Persian Gulf.

TPPHC has signed a contract with Mapna for the construction of power plants that will generate 5,000 MW by 2024 using F-class gas turbines manufactured in the country.

F-class turbines are defined by high performance, low power generation costs, long intervals between inspections, and a service-friendly design. Optimized flow and cooling add up to high efficiency and economically viable power generation in combined cycle applications.

A combined-cycle power plant uses both gas and steam turbines to produce up to 50% more electricity from the same fuel than a traditional simple cycle plant. The waste heat from the gas turbine is sent to a nearby steam turbine, which also generates electricity.

“The gas units will have an efficiency rate of 40%, which will reach 58% when the steam unit comes online,” Nasrollahi added.

Energy efficiency of a conventional thermal power station, considered salable energy produced as a percent of the heating value of the fuel consumed, is typically 33% to 48%. Considering all the heat produced by gas and steam turbines, their efficiency is limited and governed by the laws of thermodynamics.

Effective steps have been taken to convert conventional plants into combined-cycle units to improve efficiency and reduce pollution and costs.

Average efficiency of domestic power plants is around 37%. Thermal power stations in Iran account for 80% of total power generation of around 84 gigawatts and improving efficiency is crucial. Eighty thermal power plants with 65,841 MW capacity are operational in the country.

THPCC oversees dozens of fossil fuel power plants with installed capacity of over 65,000 MW -- the bulk of Iran's electricity demand. It also is in charge of building 7,000 MW of gas-powered units for the Shiraz, Tabriz, Kashan, Urmia and Chabahar combined cycle power plants.