Iran builds first hybrid solar thermal plant

"Developing the technologies for building solar thermal electric power plants, developing and using clean energies, optimizing the energies produced from regular fuels, boosting the power plants’ output, cutting environmental pollution, stabilizing the voltage of the region’s electricity, meeting the ever-increasing demand for electricity and increasing the electricity production capacity are among the main objectives of setting up this plant," University Jihad Chancellor Hamid Reza Tayyebi said.

The solar energy plant will become operational at the oil facilities of Kharg Island next week, he added.

The plant is equipped with a battery storage that is able to generate 50 kilowatts of power daily, which can be increased to 200 KW.

Solar thermal energy harnesses solar power for practical applications from solar heating to electrical power generation. Solar thermal collectors, such as solar hot water panels, are commonly used to generate solar hot water for domestic and light industrial applications. This energy can be used in a building’s design to control heating and ventilation in both active solar and passive solar designs.

Researchers in the field are working to improve solar thermal technology and make the cost of producing solar thermal electric power increasingly competitive.

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