Energy Security Requires Balanced Development of Generation and Grid
An official said energy security will be achieved through balanced development of generation and the grid, and that increasing power plant capacity without adequate attention to technical requirements is not sufficient.
According to Mehr reporter, Meisham Jafarzadeh stated on the sidelines of the 8th Iran Solar Power Conference and in the audience of reporters: The country's electricity imbalance is not only caused by the lack of production capacity, but a series of structural challenges in the field of production, fuel supply, transmission, distribution and consumption management play a role in its formation. Therefore, the development of renewable energies should be pursued in the framework of a comprehensive plan to promote the stability and security of the power grid.
He added: Solar energy is one of the important investment opportunities in the electricity industry, considering Iran's climatic capacities, and it can help to diversify production sources and reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, while reducing the pressure on thermal power plants. However, solar is part of the solution to the imbalance, not a substitute for structural reforms in the electricity industry.
The CEO of Lavan Energy Holding emphasized the need to pay attention to the country's energy security architecture and stated: The development of solar power plants should be done in accordance with the network acceptance capacity, transmission infrastructure and actual consumption needs. In large-scale projects, the construction of substations and transmission lines, the use of energy storage systems, and the management of production fluctuations are among the basic requirements of sustainable and economic operation.
Referring to the necessity of creating a reliable platform for the presence of investors, Jafarzadeh said: "Investment in energy infrastructure is of a long-term nature, and without the stability of regulations, transparent mechanisms of electricity sales, guaranteeing the collection of claims and the possibility of predicting the return of investment, one cannot expect the extensive and continuous participation of the private sector."
He added: Using the capacity of the banking network, the capital market, and new project-based financing models, along with the management of economic and currency risks, can accelerate the process of implementing renewable projects. In this direction, coordination between policymakers, financial institutions and investors is an inevitable necessity.
Emphasizing the importance of investment quality, this official stated: The measure of success in the development of renewables is not only the amount of installed capacity; Rather, the actual production capacity, quality of design and implementation, ability to connect to the network, utilization rate and economic efficiency of the projects should be the basis of evaluation.
Referring to the approach of this complex in the development of energy infrastructure, he said: The strategy of this complex is based on targeted investment, detailed technical and economic studies, engineering management of projects and the transformation of financial resources into operational and reliable power generation capacity.
Jafarzadeh also noted: the issue of energy security is no longer limited to peak consumption in summer; The limitation of fuel supply for thermal power plants in winter has also highlighted the necessity of diversifying the sources of production and development of renewable energy.
In the end, he emphasized: stable energy security cannot be achieved by simply increasing power plant capacity; Rather, it is the result of balanced development of production, strengthening of the network, improving the efficiency of existing power plants, consumption management and smart investment. Solar energy plays an important role in this path, but the root solution of electricity imbalance requires reforming the structure and governance of the country's energy industry.