TEHRAN- The Minister of Energy said: The Meshgin-Shahr geothermal power plant in Ardebil, with a capacity of five megawatts and an investment of 10 million euros, has been connected to the national electricity grid and has entered the cycle of electrical energy generation.

Abbas Aliabadi, stating that this project is being built as a pilot on a geothermal energy reservoir with a production capacity of about 250 megawatts by the Thermal Power Generation Holding Company, added: The implementation of this project has enabled our country to acquire the knowledge of exploration, design, execution, and operation of geothermal resources.

The Minister of Energy, pointing to the preparation of the final synchronization stages of this project amid the country's wartime conditions, stated: For the exploration and extraction of the mentioned geothermal resources, several wells have been drilled to a depth of about three thousand meters with a production capacity of 30 megawatts, of which five megawatts have been brought online in the first phase.

Stating that in the process of implementing this project, we are seeking to develop geothermal energy as a clean and sustainable energy source and boost the region's economy through attracting tourists, he continued: In the next steps of this project, we are striving to expand the capacity of the Meshgin-Shahr power plant and its existing wells, and then develop the entire explored reservoir in this region and develop geothermal power plants in other parts of the country.

Aliabadi noted: Expanding the use of renewable geothermal energy for electricity generation, acquiring the technology and knowledge of operating geothermal resources, localizing the technical know-how for the sustainable operation of geothermal reservoirs, and reducing dependence on fossil resources are among the objectives of launching this project.

Iran's first geothermal power plant is being built by the Thermal Power Generation Holding Company, 25 kilometers south of Meshgin-Shahr city, in northwestern Ardebil province.

EF/MA