A wind power plant with a capacity of 50 MW is being developed on the border between Iran and Afghanistan. While a 25 MW unit of the power plant is expected to be operational before March 20, 2021, another 25 MW unit is expected to come online slightly later in the year.
The power plant will be developed using 4.2 MW turbines. With the construction of this power plant, certain infrastructure was set up around the border zone, including, high-pressure lines, a substation and telecommunication junction, and internet. According to the Head of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization, the border between Iran and Afghanistan has good wind speeds, thus 30,000 MWh of electricity can be generated with the installation of wind turbines. Of this, 25,000 MWh may be generated on the Afghan side and 5,000 MWh in Iran.
Earlier in September 2020, Da Afghanistan Breshna Shirkat Afghanistan’s, state-run power producer, signed contracts to develop four renewable power projects with the private sector. This included one solar photovoltaic project to be built in northern Balkh province with 40MW capacity and two other projects: a solar and a wind farm each with a capacity of 25MW. The last two will be located in Herat province, near the border with Iran. The four projects were expected to cost $160 million, and expected to add 110MW of clean energy to the nation’s power grid over the next 12 to 21 months.