A 5 megawatt farm came online in Nir, a town in Taft County, and a 10 MW photovoltaic power center was launched in Chahak District of Khatam County.
The two solar stations will annually generate 31.2 million kilowatt hours of electricity, the Energy Ministry news portal reported and help cut emission of 21,500 tons of greenhouse gases a year.
With the two new farms now there are nine solar power plants in the province producing 73.5 MW of electricity.
Moreover, 19 solar projects with total capacity of 300 MW are underway in the dessert province. Estimated to cost $16 million, the projects are scheduled to be completed by 2022.
Over the past seven years private firms have invested $28 million in solar power in Yazd and the government’s share in expanding infrastructure has been $13 million.
Yazd is an industrial region and almost 75% of the power in the province is used by industries. It is one of Iran's known centers for textiles and is famous also for producing ceramics and construction material. It is also a major tourist attraction.
The arid province has a very hot climate. The provincial capital, Yazd, is situated between the two deserts of Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut, the latter known as one of the hottest places on earth.
With over 3,200 sunny hours throughout the year, the historical city is highly suitable for harnessing solar power.
Small-Scale Power Stations
Two small-scale power plants with distributed generation system were also launched on Monday
The projects were a 6 MW power station in Taft County, and an 8 MW plant in the city of Yazd.
Both projects were carried out by the private sector. The plant in Taft was built with the help of Tadbir Niroo Co and the station in Yazd was constructed by Kyan Group.
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.
Small-scale power stations now account for 181 MW of the province’s total electricity output. Besides the four solar and small-scale power plants, 9 other power distribution projects were launched in the province on Monday.
Close to $113 million has been invested so far on the projects designed to help stabilize power supply in the desert region, which has seen its population rising during and after the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.