Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran's first geothermal power plant is under construction in the northwestern city of Meshkin Shahr, Ebrahim Emami, the city's governor said.
The 55-megawatt plant is planned to come on stream by March 2017, putting Iran in the club of two dozen nations with the geothermal power generation capacity, Emami said, Mehr news agency reported May 22.
Private sector also has taken part in the project, Emami said, adding that the power plant will cost almost $16.5 million.
He further said that the administration plans to establish renewable energy parks in Meshkin Shahr city around Savalan, an inactive volcanic peak.
Currently, negotiations are underway with various investors for construction of two renewable energy parks in the region, he said.
In geothermal power stations, heat from the earth's core is used to produce steam in underground water and the steam is applied to a generator which produces electricity.
Besides power generation, the Meshkin Shahr geothermal energy will be used for heating purposes in the region's harsh winters and cooling in the summer.
The facility is being built at a height of 3,000 meters from the sea level.
