The Energy Ministry says it is completing a deal with German firms to increase the electricity generating capacity in Iran by more than 50 percent over the next six years.
That is an astounding expansion that would eliminate any worries about blackouts and brownouts for years to come.
Deputy Energy Minister Houshang Falahatian announced the plan Monday. He said nothing about costs or financing mechanisms.
“Based on a major program, up to 37,000 megawatts of new power generation capacity will be created within a six-year period,” he said.
As of last summer, Iran’s generating capacity totaled 71,000 megawatts, although actual power being generated at any one time rarely exceeds 50,000 megawatts.
Real capacity is down substantially this summer because the drought means water behind Iran’s dams is much lower than normal and the dams cannot produce as much electricity as usual.
About 85 percent of Iran’s electricity is generated by plants fueled by oil or gas, with 14 percent, in normal times, coming from hydropower plants. The Bushehr nuclear power plant accounts for less than 1.5 percent of generating capacity.
Falahatian said about 5,000 megawatts of the 37,000 to be built by the Germans are to come from renewable sources, chiefly wind and solar. He didn’t say how the rest would be produced.
He did not name the companies Iran was dealing with and said only that the deals would be signed “soon.”