To help Chadormalu Mining and Industrial Company generate its own electricity, the company has signed a contract with the state-owned Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization, aka Satba, to build a 100-megawatt solar farm, the CEO of the mining firm said.“Estimated to cost $70 million, the plant will be constructed in Ashkezar County, Yazd Province, in 24 months,” Amir Ali Taherzadeh was also quoted as saying by IRNA.Funded by Chadormalu, the main iron ore concentrate producer by direct reduction in the Middle East, the photovoltaic facility is expected to produce close to 190 million kilowatt hours annually, he said.“Investments in photovoltaic power projects can have several advantages for industries, especially for mining firms, one of which is that they will not be at the mercy of the state-run Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company [Tavanir],” he said.Moreover, the construction of renewable plants requires much less funding than building thermal power stations, the smallest of which costs $3 billion and they will take a minimum three years to be synchronized with the national power grid while steel factories need to cover the power deficit in the shortest possible time.Tavanir’s power deficit is increasing and manufacturing industries have to bore the brunt of the grave power supply crisis, as they are forced to halt operations repeatedly in June and July because the state-run utility company cannot produce sufficient electricity.If industries do not invest in short-term power generation schemes, the scale and scope of their problems will increase exponentially.To compensate for the shortage, industrial units have to turn off their machinery. Frequent power outages in big cities adversely affect industrial units, taking a toll on electrical equipment and reducing their efficiency.Emphasizing the need for a bigger role for private companies in developing the key power industry, Mahmoud Kamani, managing director of Satba, said Iran's installed solar power generating capacity is about 450 MW and this initiative alone will add 100 megawatts to the output. (ICE TEHERAN)

Fonte notizia: Financial Tribune