"The second unit will add 160 megawatts of electricity to the national grid to make up for a part of the country's heavy consumption needs in summer," Abbas Aliabadi was also quoted as saying by MAPNA's website.
MAPNA Group, Iran's top engineering and energy conglomerate, is in charge of Parand power project that consists of six heat recovery steam generator units with a total nominal capacity of 954 MW with an efficiency rate of 31%. Located 30 kilometers southwest of Tehran, the plant also includes three steam units each with a capacity of 160 MWs, air-cooled condenser system, 400 kv substation and a 35-km transmission line.
"The first steam unit became operational in November 2017 and the third unit's implementation is envisaged by the end of the current fiscal year [March 2019]," Financial Tribune quoted Aliabadi as saying.
"The overall project has registered a 91% work-in-progress."
The MAPNA chief added that upon their completion, the steam units will increase the plant's efficiency to 49%.
"By converting gas units into a combined cycle, the total unit of the Parand power plant will increase to about 1,500 MW," he said. The plant does not use underground water resources, as it is equipped with ACC technology, which reduces water consumption by using wastewater from the city of Parand."
Aliabadi put the project's total costs at €407 million plus some €13 million for the construction of the sewage disposal plant to provide the needed water.
The project has been financed by MAPNA and private sector to reduce reliance on foreign investment.
Saving Gas
Aliabadi noted that there is an opportunity to turn gas and steam units into a combined-cycle one.
"It will have multiple advantages, including the reduction of gas consumption and augmentation of efficiency," he said. The official said his company is trying to convert a large number of gas units into combined cycle.
"Some 160 gas units and a total of about 8,000 megawatts are likely to become a combined-cycle unit," he said.
He opined that the first priority of the power industry is to convert a gas or heater unit into a combined-cycle one.
“If this is done, there will be huge resources from the country’s fuel economy, which is a huge income," he said. According to MAPNA chief, if gas power plants are transformed into combined-cycle units, over 600 million cubic meters of natural gas or diesel fuel could be saved.
Aliabadi concluded that “MAPNA is technically capable of producing 8,000 megawatts annually, while the company now produces 2,000-3,000 megawatts annually."