An hourly resolved model has been designed and developed on the basis of linear optimization of energy system components. This model is based on several constraints and ensures the RE power generation always meet the demand. A main feature of the model is its flexibility and. The main technologies used in the energy system optimization are as follows: 1. technologies for conversion of RE resources into electricity; 2. energy. The financial assumptions for capital expenditures (capex), operating and maintenance expenditures (opex) and lifetimes of all components are provided in. In this study, two scenarios with different energy systems are considered: (1) a country-wide scenario energy system in which RE generation and energy storage. Upper limits are calculated based on land use limitations and the density of capacity. Table 9 shows the upper limits specified for the different technologies in this.
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How much wind power does Iran have in the MENA region?
Although Iran was the leader in the MENA region with regard to power generation from wind energy with 92 MW installed capacity in 2010 (Farfan and Breyer 2017), it has experienced flat growth in recent years. However, 27 MW of installed wind power capacity was added to the system in 2014 (Farfan and Breyer 2017).
In terms of storage, the low installed capacities can be explained by the fact that Iran has a high availability of RE sources, particularly wind energy, solar PV and hydropower, which can produce electricity all-year-round (Fig. 6). The total storage capacities soar from 9.7 TWh in the country-wide scenario to 110.9 TWh in the integrated scenario.
However, 27 MW of installed wind power capacity was added to the system in 2014 (Farfan and Breyer 2017). Solar power generation has seen high growth in recent years, mainly through photovoltaics (PV) and followed by concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) plants in Iran.
Is solar energy a viable option in Iran?
The potential for PV is extremely high in Iran, mainly due to having about 300 clear sky sunny days per year on two-thirds of its land area and an average 2200 kWh solar radiation per square meter (Najafi et al. 2015).
Natural gas has been the main energy resource in Iran so far with a share of 60% of total primary energy consumption in 2013, following by oil with 38%, hydropower with 1–2%, and a marginal contribution of coal, biomass and waste, nuclear power and non-hydro renewables (BP Group 2014; EIA 2015).
Are wind turbines profitable in Iran?
Besides, the installation of wind turbines in windy regions of the country, constructing wind farms, and distributed small-scale and centralized PV plants are already profitable in numerous regions in Iran (Ghobadian et al. 2009; Alamdari et al. 2012; Aguilar et al. 2015).