“With 10-megawatt capacity, the power station is projected to generate at least 77,000 megawatt hours annually,” Hossein Zarei was quoted as saying by the Energy Ministry news portal.
Costing $5 million, the plant was built with the help of the private sector (Tadbir Niroo Co.), he noted.
Small-scale power stations account for 167 MW of the province’s total electricity output.
“Peak power consumption will reach 1,200 MW over the next two months,” Zarei said, adding that 7,450 contracts have been signed with heavy consumers (industrial units and farmers) in the region to shift consumption from on-peak to off-peak periods to reduce demand by 200 MW.
Distributed generation refers to electricity produced in small quantities near the point of use, as alternative or supplement to traditional centralized grid-connected power. It reduces the cost and complexity associated with transmission and distribution, while offsetting peak electricity demand and stabilizing the local grid.
Yazd is an industrial province because almost 75% of the power is used by industries. Despite the fact that electricity consumption of industries is very high, Yazd has one of the most stable power networks in the country, the official said.
Yazd is one of Iran's known centers for textiles and is famous also for producing ceramics and construction material and has a hot desert climate.
It is the driest major city with yearly precipitation hardly reaching 49 millimeters and only 23 days of rainfall. It also is the hottest city north of the Persian Gulf, with summer temperatures frequently reaching over 40°C in blazing sunshine and no humidity.