Unique opportunity to develop coal-fired power plants / How to solve the winter electricity problem

According to the economic correspondent of Fars News Agency, one of the biggest problems of the country’s electricity network is the significant dependence on natural gas. According to the latest statistics provided by Tavanir Company, 83.2% of the country’s power plants in the form of heating, gas, combined cycle and units Scattered tulle uses natural gas directly.

This significant dependence poses great threats to the country’s electricity grid, for example, if the natural gas supply in the country is in trouble, the electricity grid will also suffer from widespread imbalances.

* Dependence of power plants on natural gas is a disaster for the electricity industry in winter

The shortage of natural gas and as a result the widespread imbalance in electricity supply, a problem that plagued the country in the winter of last year at the same time as the increase in domestic gas consumption for a month and will be repeated more severely this time for the second time this winter.

Accordingly, Mustafa Rajabi Mashhadi, spokesman for the electricity industry, said regarding the imbalance of electricity formed in winter due to the lack of natural gas due to increased domestic consumption: ” It is predicted that the imbalance due to fuel shortage will reach 2 to 3 thousand MWh in the worst case conditions in the winter of 1400 in the worst case.»

The issue of dependence of the country’s power plants on natural gas becomes critical when we know that the imbalance of production and consumption of natural gas in the coming years will experience unrest and according to a conservative forecast for less than 20 years the country’s gas production will only meet domestic consumption and needs The industry and power plants will not be supplied.

* What are the solutions to solve the problem of the electricity industry?

Due to the huge volume of problems caused by the dependence of the electricity industry on natural gas as a major problem, several solutions are proposed to reduce this dependence. For example, the construction of nuclear and renewable power plants has been repeatedly proposed as an expert proposal.

In the meantime, one of the expert suggestions to reduce the dependence of the electricity industry on natural gas, which has received less attention, is the construction of coal-fired power plant units.

* One third of the world’s electricity is generated by coal-fired power plants

At present, despite all the claims about the reduction of coal-fired power plants in the world under environmental pretexts, a significant part of the world’s electricity is generated by coal-fired power plants. According to data published in the Journal of Global Energy Statistics published by British Petroleum in 2021, 27.2% of the world’s electricity will come from burning coal; Meanwhile, 19.3 percent of US electricity generation and more than 30 percent of Japan’s electricity depend on coal-fired power plants.

According to Fars, one of the reasons that coal-fired power plant units continue to generate a significant share of the world’s electricity is the lower cost of electricity generation by these units. According to the latest published technical and economic information of the country’s power plants, the cost of fuel to generate electricity using natural gas is 3 times that of domestic coal and 2 times that of imported coal.

* Iran’s unique opportunity to develop coal-fired power plants

Despite the numerous economic advantages of coal-fired power plants, the share of electricity generation from this source in our country is zero, but the plan to build one coal-fired power plant in Tabas is on the agenda. According to Mohsen Tarztaleb, CEO of the parent company of Thermal Electricity, the construction of Tabas Coal Power Plant with two units of 325 MW is on the agenda.

In addition to all the benefits of coal-fired power plants, as well as the country’s significant need to diversify its energy portfolio, there is now an important opportunity for the development of power plants in the country.

According to Fars, based on information published in the Tribune, China has announced in international forums that it will no longer invest in any coal-fired power plant projects outside China.

The news came as a big shock to Pakistan, as it relied on China’s massive investment to exploit 185 million tonnes of coal reserves in the Tar region.

On this basis, it seems that Iran’s investment in the Pakistan Tar Coal Project in order to guarantee imports from this country can provide a sustainable supply for this energy carrier for the installation of coal-fired power plant units.

* The task of the High Energy Council to develop 5,000 MW of coal-fired power plants

Given that the High Energy Council resolution has mandated the installation of at least 5,000 MW of coal-fired power plants to government institutions by 1420, it seems that the golden opportunity of supplying coal from Pakistan’s Tar region could pave the way for this goal.

If this important opportunity is used by the country and power plants are built, especially in the east of the country, the zero percent share of coal in the country’s electricity production basket can reach nearly 5 percent and an important step can be taken to reduce the dependence of power plants on natural gas. .

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