BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 25. The first geothermal power plant in the Middle East will be put into operation with a capacity of 5 megawatts by the end of the current Iranian year (from March 20, 2024, through March 20, 2025) in the Meshkin Shahr district of Ardabil Province, located in the northwest of Iran, the Deputy Director of Iran's Thermal Power Plants Holding Merhan Golabkesh told reporters, Trend reports.
According to him, about 3 trillion rials (roughly $6.76 million) have been spent on the plant so far.
Golabkesh added that the plant is being built as a pilot plant on a geothermal energy reserve with a potential of about 250 megawatts. The construction of the plant is 93 percent complete.
The official noted that to produce 30 megawatts of electricity, several wells with a depth of 3,000 meters have been dug in the mentioned geothermal reservoir.
He added that the building of this plant is all about putting the region on the map for tourism by harnessing geothermal energy as a breath of fresh air for green energy.
Meanwhile, Iran's first geothermal power plant is located 25 kilometers south of Meshkin Shahr district in Iran.
To note, the mechanism of electricity generation in a geothermal power plant is similar to the mechanism of electricity generation by steam units in thermal power plants. In thermal power plants, fossil fuels such as gas and diesel are used to generate heat in the steam unit. However, electricity is generated by heat from wells drilled in a geothermal power plant.