Qeshm Self-Sufficient in Electricity

EghtesadOnline: The second gas unit of Qeshm Combined Cycle Power Plant in Qeshm Island, off the Persian Gulf, was inaugurated Thursday making the island self-sufficient in electricity generation.

News ID: ۷۵۱۳۸۲

31 October 2020

With a capacity of 175 megawatts, it has an efficiency rate of 33% and uses 45,000 cubic meters of gas per hour, the Energy Ministry news portal Paven reported.

The first 175 MW gas unit was launched two months ago and produces 350 MW. A 160 MW steam unit is also under construction and will come online by the summer of 2022 to boost capacity to 510 MW.

When the steam unit starts operation, efficiency of the plant will rise to 49%. A combined cycle power station uses both gas and steam turbines to produce up to 50% more electricity from the same fuel than traditional power plants.

A collaboration of Ghadir Investment Company and the industrial giant Mapna, the project is estimated to cost $360 million.

A water treatment unit will come on stream as the last part of the project to produce 8,000 cubic meters of desalinated water a day.

Qeshm is the largest island in the Persian Gulf (close to the Omani port of Khasab) where fishing is the main occupation. On the limited cultivated land dates and melons are grown while salt is mined on the southeastern coast.

Qeshm is famous for its wide range of ecotourism attractions such as the Hara Marine Forests. According to environmentalists, about 1.5% of the world’s birds and 25% of Iran's native birds migrate to the forests every year, which are the first national geo park in Iran.

Due to the Hormozgan’s proximity to the Oman Sea coast and the Persian Gulf, the province is also active in the fisheries, boat and ship building plus oil and gas industries.

Hormozgan has abundant mineral resources and its chromite, red soil, lime, gypsum, sulfur and salt mines are well known.

With the launch of the new gas unit, total power generation capacity in Hormozgan reached 4,000 MW and 84,500 MW at the national level.