Tabas power station

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Tabas power station (نیروگاه حرارتی طبس) is a power station under construction in Tabas, Khorasan, Iran.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Tabas power station Tabas, Khorasan, Iran 33.227766, 56.24132 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

Loading map...


Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Unit 1, Unit 2: 33.227766, 56.24132

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology Start year Retired year
Unit 1 construction coal - unknown 325 unknown 2024
Unit 2 construction coal - unknown 325 unknown 2024

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner
Unit 1 Iranian Electricity Production, Transmission and Distribution Management JSC (Tavanir) [100.0%]
Unit 2 Iranian Electricity Production, Transmission and Distribution Management JSC (Tavanir) [100.0%]

Project-level coal details

  • Coal source(s): Mazino Coal Mine

Background

Location uncertainty

Site preparation or construction appeared slow and stalled for many years, so the power station was presumed shelved or cancelled. However, in 2021, a senior energy official said the units were still "on the agenda" and expected to join the national grid by 2024, and in 2023, work on the plant was reportedly on track.

The map above may center at or near the construction site for the power station. Initial construction work may be reflected in recent Planet satellite imagery (2023). Google Maps lists the project 5 kilometers East,[1] but there is no clear activity at the location.

The project is proposed 85 kilometers of the city of Tabas and in proximity to the Mazino Coal Mine.[2][3][4]


Tabas Power Station locations.jpg

Project history

The plant was proposed as Iran's first coal power generation plant. Construction of the plant in Tabas commenced in 2000. The government initially funded the project, but gradual and protracted funding impeded progress.[5][6]

In November 2012, it was reported that Iran planned to develop the plant with the assistance of Chinese financial backing, at a cost of US$1 billion. The power station would generate 650 MW of electricity when it became operational, four years after financing is secured. The project was reported as likely to be kicked off by the end of Iran's Fifth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2015).[7]

In 2012, the project was listed as under construction.[8][9]

In March 2015, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) approved opening of a Chinese letter of credit to help accelerate development of the plant. The plant was reported as 25% complete.[5]

In December 2016, it was reported that a consortium of Iran’s MAPNA Group and China-based Shanghai Electric of State Power Investment Corporation would develop the project. The plant was still reported as 25% complete.[10]

In December 2017, the plant was reported to be abandoned.[11]

However, in June 2020, another article noted that construction had registered "70% progress" based on the Energy Ministry news website, Paven.[12] In July 2020, the Iran-based Tasmin News also reported that the first shipment of turbine equipment had arrived and construction on the power station would be resumed.[13]

Around November 2021, Mohsen Tarztalab, the head of the Thermal Power Plants Holding Company, visited Tabas. He said "the construction of this power plant with two units of 325 MW is on the agenda," with the units expected to join the national grid in the Persian year of 1403 which begins in March 2024. The senior energy official also announced that Iran has to build 5,000 megawatts of coal-fired power capacity in the coming years due to limitations of gas supplies to power plants in cold seasons and the need to diversify the fuel mix.[14][15][16]

The power station was the subject of another article a few weeks later, which involved a long interview with one of the managers of the project.[17]

Planet satellite imagery of what may be the construction site through January 2021, June 2021, and December 2021 did not appear to show any progress from initial construction that took place in January 2016.

In November 2021, the Secretary of the Iranian Coal Association is quoted in the Mine & Mining Industries News, saying: "It was decided to build a coal-fired power plant in the Tabas region to supply part of the country's electricity through coal, but this did not happen."[18]

In what appeared to be summer 2022, the head of Tabas' Industry, Mining and Trade Department and the deputy governor of South Khorasan visited the construction site and nearby mine.[19]

In November 2022, it was reported that construction was underway and that a boiler from a foreign country was ordered.[20]

In December 2022, it was reported that work was 35% complete, with equipment supplied by Iran’s MAPNA Group and China’s Shanghai Electric.[21] News still referenced vague plans for 5,000 MW of new coal capacity in the country.

Between January 2021 and January 2023 and January 2023 and July 2023, minor work did appear to move forward at the potential site based on Planet satellite imagery.

In 2022, a study tracking the Tabas watershed with the aim of supplying water to a coal-fired power plant in what appeared to be the area was published.[22]

Reporting from September 2023 suggested that construction of the power station may have stalled again because the main contractor, MAPNA, lacked the appropriate technology for construction of coal-fired boilers.[23]

Construction company

Omran Azarestan is a construction company involved in the project.[24] In January 2022, they posted a video on Instagram with the following caption: "• پروژه ي عمليات آماده سازي ، حفاري ، انفجار ، بارگيري ، باطله برداري ، استخراج ، جاده سازي و گريدرزني ، آبپاشي ، حمل باطله به محل هاي تعيين شده در معدن ذغال سنگ مزينوي نيروگاه طبس." (Google Translate: "Project preparation, drilling, blasting, loading, tailings, extraction, road construction and grading, spraying, tailings transportation to designated locations in the Mazino coal mine of Tabas power plant.")[25]

In June 2022, Omran Azarestan had the plant listed as an "ongoing project" on their website.[26]

Financing

The first 25% of the plant was constructed with financing from the Government of Iran.[27] Then, in 2016, it was reported that the Export Development Bank of Iran and a consortium Chinese financial institutions providing a total of US$1 billion in loans were bringing the coal energy project back to life.[28][29] The Climate Policy Initiative also reported in 2015 that the Export-Import Bank of China had agreed to provide US$850 million of the total US$1 billion in loans. [30][28] However it could not be confirmed that this financing has closed.

Coal source

The Tabas region in South Khorasan Province holds about 55-76% of Iran’s coal reserves, with an estimated proven coal reserve of 2.5 billion tonnes, including 1.1 billion tonnes of coking coal in Parvadeh region and 1.4 billion tonnes of thermal coal in the Mazino area, according to Iranian news sources. In 2015, it was reported that the coal concentrate output of the Tabas Parvadeh Coal Company was set to reach two million tonnes per annum from the current 750,000 tonnes, as part of a five-year development plan. The increase would be financed by the Chinese MCC Group.[31]

In April 2020, workers of the Tabas coal mine protested against the poor conditions, especially with the coronavirus. They were concerned about the dining hall, proximity of workers, and closed work environment worsening coronavirus risks. Though many mines were closed following the COVID-19 outbreak, the Tabas coal mine started operations again on April 26.[32] Families of the workers also protested against the re-start of Tabas operations.[33]

In July 2021, the Tabas open coal mine Mazino Coal Mine reportedly held an opening ceremony. It is located approximately 5 kilometers from the proposed power plant and expected to produce 2 million tons of coal per year.[34]

Opposition

In early April 2008, workers at Tabas plant walked out over unpaid salaries.[35]

On May 12, 2015, 150 workers at Tabas plant stopped working to protest the 1.5 months delay in their salaries. The workers also cited poor working conditions that have resulted in death and injury, as reasons for their protest.[36]

On May 25, 2015, workers at Tabas plant protested in front of the management office about not getting paid their wages for 4 months and “poor services.”[37]

In April 2016, workers employed for the Tabas plant protested for not receiving their pay. They were concerned about their employee-employer contracts and worried about getting fired due to financial costs.[38]

In November 2017, former workers of the Tabas plant protested after being fired from their jobs. It is said that 250 workers were fired due to financial problems.[39]

In March 2017, about 50 workers from the Tabas plant gathered in front of the Tabas governor’s office to demand their three-month missing wages. Protestors said that none of the mine’s managers were being held accountable for missing wages.[40]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. "نيروگاه زغال سوز طبس" Google Maps, accessed February 2022
  2. "Fadjr Mazinoyi Mineral Co.," Mazino, accessed in 2021
  3. "Iran to construct 1st coal power plant," December 14, 2016
  4. "The Composition Of Coals In The Mazino Coal Deposit, Tabas Coalfield, Central Iran," Research Journal Of University Of Isfahan "Science", Volume 30, Number 1 (GEOLOGY), 2008
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Chinese LC for Tabas Power Plant," Financial Tribune, March 5, 2015
  6. "Current projects," Omran Azarestan Construction Co., accessed August 2014
  7. Diarmaid Williams, "Iran plans $1bn coal fired power plant," Power Engineering International, November 28, 2012
  8. "Design and construction of civil works, Tabs Fossil-Fuel Power Station," Omran Azarestan, 2012
  9. "Gov't to develop coal plants," Iran Daily, November 24, 2014
  10. "China to build Iran’s first coal-fired power plant," Energy Central, December 15, 2016
  11. "Iranian Coal Potential Untapped," Financial Tribune, December 25, 2017
  12. "Work in Progress at 650 MW Tabas Coal Power Plant," Financial Tribune, June 1, 2020
  13. "عملیات اجرایی ساخت واحدهای بخار نیروگاه زغال‌سوز طبس آغاز شد," Tasmin News, July 23, 2020
  14. "Iran to build 5,000 MW of coal-fired power capacity," PressTV, November 17, 2021
  15. "ساخت ۵۰۰۰ مگاوات نیروگاه زغال‌سنگ سوز در کشور," ILNA, August 26, 2021
  16. "فرصت بی‌نظیر توسعه نیروگاه‌های زغال‌‎سوز/ مشکل برق فصل زمستان چگونه حل می‌شود," Fars News, 2021
  17. "صفر تا صد برنامه وزارت نیرو برای نیروگاه‌های ذغال‌سنگ‌سوز/آب مورد نیاز نیروگاه طبس چگونه تامین می‌شود؟," Fars News, 2021
  18. "Ignore coal in the field of energy: No investment has been made in the exploitation of coal reserves," Mine & Mining Industries News, November 17, 2021
  19. "نیروگاه حرارتی زغال‌سنگ سوز طبس چالش تامین برق کشور را برطرف می‌کند," tasnimnews, 2022
  20. "South Khorasan Building 1st Coal-Fired Power Plant," Financial Tribune, November 23, 2022
  21. "Iran’s First Coal-Fired Power Station Plan on Track," Financial Tribune, December 31, 2022
  22. اکتشاف و ردیابی ایزوتوپی حوضه آبریز طبس با هدف تامین آب نیروگاه زغال سوز, University of Tehran, 2022
  23. "گره کور نیروگاه ذغال‌سنگ در ایران چگونه باز می‌شود؟," Fars News, September 4, 2023
  24. "Omran Azarestan," Company website, accessed in February 2022
  25. "January 18, 2022 post," "omran.azarestan" Instagram account, accessed February 2022
  26. "Design and construction of civil works of BOP of coal-fired power plant of Tabas (2*325) MW," Omran Azarestan, accessed June 9, 2022
  27. "Chinese LC for Tabas Power Plant," Financial Tribune, March 4, 2015
  28. 28.0 28.1 "Coal Power Plant Project Runs Into Controversy," Financial Tribune, December 22, 2016
  29. "China’s Expanding Overseas Coal Power Industry: New Strategic Opportunities, Commercial Risks, Climate Challenges and Geopolitical Implications," EUCERS, August 2016
  30. "Slowing the Growth of Coal Power Outside China: The Role of Chinese Finance," Climate Policy Initiative, November 2015
  31. "Coal Co. Sets Concentrate Production Target at 2m Tons p.a.," Financial Tribune, July 9, 2015
  32. "Tabas coal miners protest against the start of work," Iran Freedom, April 2020
  33. "Facebook Post," Nahid Javid, March 20, 2020
  34. "معدن روباز زغال نیروگاه حرارتی طبس افتتاح شد," IRNA, July 2021
  35. "More than 400 sacked workers of Iran-Sadra Shipyard ended the 8th day of their protest," National Council of Resistance of Iran, April 7, 2008
  36. "Negin coal miners strike in Tabas," Radio Zamaneh, May 12, 2015
  37. "Iran: nationwide workers' protest and strike has created a crises in the country," People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, May 27, 2015
  38. "Facebook Post," Maryam Mohseni, April 15, 2016
  39. "Protested workers fired from the Tabas coal mine," Steelpedia, November 27, 2017
  40. "Facebook Post," Maryam Mohseni, March 4, 2017

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.