iran - Economy - Energy
Picture of As a further drive toward diversification of energy sources, Iran has also established wind farms in several areas, this one near Manjeel.
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Iran ranks second in the world in natural gas reserves and third in oil reserves. In 2005 Iran spent US$4 billion dollars on fuel imports, because of contraband and inefficient domestic use. [http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/205986/3/ Oil industry output averaged 4 million barrels per day in 2005, compared with the peak of 6 million barrels per day reached in 1974. In the early 2000s, industry infrastructure was increasingly inefficient because of technological lags. Few exploratory wells were drilled in 2005.
In 2004, a large share of Iran’s natural gas reserves were untapped. The addition of new hydroelectric stations and the streamlining of conventional coal- and oil-fired stations increased installed capacity to 33,000 megawatts. Of that amount, about 75 percent was based on natural gas, 18 percent on oil, and 7 percent on hydroelectric power. In 2004, Iran opened its first wind-powered and geothermal plants, and the first solar thermal plant was to come online in 2009. Demographic trends and intensified industrialization have caused electric power demand to grow by 8 percent per year. The government’s goal of 53,000 megawatts of installed capacity by 2010 is to be reached by bringing on line new gas-fired plants financed by independent power producers, including those with foreign investment backing, and by adding hydroelectric and nuclear power generating capacity. Iran’s first nuclear power plant at Bushehr, built with assistance from Russia, was not online by 2006. In 2005, Iran’s electricity imports were greater than its exports by about 500 million kilowatt-hours; exchanges were made with all neighboring countries except Iraq. 1