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 Energy Strategy Reviews 24 (2019) 358–369

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Energy Strategy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/esr

The potential and deployment viability of concentrated solar power (CSP) in T

Iran
Kasra Mohammadia, Hossein Khorasanizadehb,∗
a
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Utah, 50 S. Central Campus Dr., 3290 MEB, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9203, USA
b
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Energy Research Institute, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Iran's experience for deployment of concentrated solar power (CSP) goes back to Shiraz and Yazd power plants
Concentrated solar power (CSP) which became operational in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Despite the successful operation of these plants,
Direct normal irradiation (DNI) design or construction of new CSP plants have not been announced since then. In this regard, a lack of thorough
Potential feasibility studies is evident. This study offers a general potential assessment and feasibility analyses of de-
Hybridization
ployment and promotion of CSP in Iran. To identify suitable regions, the status of direct normal irradiation (DNI)
Iran
and other significant factors are evaluated. The study also discusses the possibility of hybridizing CSP plants with
other energy sources. Furthermore, the drivers, barriers, and challenges to promote CSPs in Iran are explored
and discussed.

1. Introduction more tendencies to develop renewable energies such as solar energy

The status quo of global challenges regarding the threats of climate
changes as well as the development of clean and sustainable energy
clearly indicates an urgent need to hasten the utilization of renewable
energy sources. Harnessing the solar power, as the most widely avail-
able renewable source, is among the most practical and affordable so-
lutions to decelerate the rate of climate change and its unavoidable
impacts [1,2]. Also, it is beneficial to enhance energy security and
sustainability in the global market [3,4]. The worldwide availability of
solar energy brings the possibility of substituting or decreasing the
share of conventional power plants such as natural gas and coal with
solar power plants. Concentrated solar power (CSP) industry has ex-
perienced substantial growth over the past decade. The ability to pro-
vide dispatchable power as well as hybridization with other energy
systems are two major positive aspects of CSP technologies.
Iran is one of the countries with the enormous potential of solar
energy due to the substantial level of solar radiation throughout the
year in many regions, owing to its placement in a sunny belt. Currently,
the Iran's total installed power capacity is around 73 GW where the
largest proportion comes from gas -fired combined cycle and steam
plants [5]. In fact, more than 99% of the Iran's energy mix depends
upon crude oil and natural gas sources. The current portion of power
generation by renewable energy sources in Iran is less than 1% [6].
Since last decade, the government and decision makers have shown
due to the potential depletion of oil and natural gas reserves as well as
the concerns regarding the detrimental environmental consequences of
high exploitations of these reserves.
Solar electricity can be generated using photovoltaic (PV) and
concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies [7,8]. Every CSP plant
consists of a solar field and a power block. The solar field concentrates
the direct solar radiation and converts the solar energy to heat. This
heat is used to either directly or indirectly produce steam for stirring
the power block to generate electricity. CSP plants are classified based
on the types of solar collectors utilized. There are four predominant
types of CSP technologies of parabolic troughs, solar tower or central
receiver systems, linear Fresnel and parabolic dishes. CSP technologies
have several major differences particularly in terms of optical design,
receiver shape, the used heat transfer fluid, and the thermal storage
methods. These issues are not discussed here.
One of the interesting features of any CSP system is that it can be
integrated with thermal energy storage technologies to continue the
electricity production during cloudy sky conditions and night time or in
the early morning when energy demand rises. This makes CSP a unique
renewable energy technology which is capable of providing a dis-
patchable source of power. Another distinction of CSP power plants is
the possibility of integration with backup energy sources like fossil fuels
for providing additional heat, or combining with fossil fuels plants in
order to decline carbon production [9–11]. The employed technologies

∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: khorasan@kashanu.ac.ir (H. Khorasanizadeh).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2019.04.008
Received 27 February 2018; Accepted 5 April 2019
Available online 24 April 2019
2211-467X/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY-NC-ND/4.0/).
K. Mohammadi and H. Khorasanizadeh
in the CSP power plants for electricity generation provide a substantial
potential to supply other particular demands including heat for in-
dustrial processes, heating, cooling, water desalination and solar fuels
[12–14].
Several CSP power plants are currently operational and under
construction in many regions of the world such as in the Southwest US,
Southern Europe like Spain, North Africa, Middle East, South Africa,
different parts of Australia, China, and Mexico that enjoy substantial
DNI throughout the year [15]. The CSP sector is currently experiencing
a solid development pathway by founding a firm base for continuous
growth in the future. Further growth of the CSP sector is a key factor for
a global shift towards a 100% renewable energy share by 2050 [15].
Such established solid pathways for future growth of CSPs necessitate
conducting more feasibility analysis to identify more suitable regions
and to estimate the overall potential of CSP development in these re-
gions. A large number of attempts have been carried out in the past
years to assess the potential and viability of CSPs in different countries
and regions such as in the United States [16,17], Europe, North Africa
and Middle East [19], India [20,21], China [20], Chile [22] and other
parts of the world [23–30].
Along with many countries around the world, Iran initiated the
development of CSP power plants. Gorjian and Ghobadian [31] ex-
plained the principles of solar thermal power plants and the current
state of electricity generation by them in Iran. In particular, they ex-
plained the two premier CSP power plants in two cities of Shiraz and
Yazd which became operational in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Un-
fortunately, despite the successful operation of these two CSP plants in
Iran and remarkable solar energy potential in many parts of the
country, no new CSP plant has been announced since then. Enjavi-Ar-
sanjani et al. [32] by using system advisor model (SAM) software as-
sessed the possibility of electricity generation by parabolic trough CSP
in 6 cities of Iran. However, no thorough studies have been carried out
regarding the potential and promotion of CSP power plants in all parts
of Iran. In this context, the objective of this study is to perform a de-
tailed feasibility analysis and assess the potential of development of
CSPs in the country. The examinations are conducted to introduce the
more suitable regions in the country for establishing CSP power plants
based upon several important criteria. This study also discusses the
possibility of hybridizing CSP plants with other energy sources. Finally,
some challenges, drivers, and barriers for development of CSPs are
explored and discussed.
Section 2 reviews the current status and outlook of the CSP sector in
the world. In section 3, the status of CSP power plants in Iran is re-
viewed. The potential for CSP development in Iran is assessed in Section
4. In section 5, the drivers, barriers, and challenges to promote CSP
projects in the country are explored and discussed. Finally, conclusions
are offered in section 6.
2. Current and future status of the CSP sector in the world
Fig. 1 shows the global map of long-term averaged daily and total
annual DNI (kWh/m2) [33]. It illustrates that several desert regions in
the US Southwest, Middle East, and North Africa (MENA), Spain, Chile,
Australia, India and southwestern of China have the highest magnitude
of annual DNI in comparison to other parts of the globe, typically
ranging from 2000 to over 3000 kWh/m2. These regions which mostly
include desert and semi-deserts areas lack clouds, humidity, dust, and
fumes; the factors that attenuate the magnitude of DNI in the atmo-
sphere.
CSP sector has experienced significant growth during the past
decade with a substantial increase in terms of global installed capacity
by a factor of 10 from less than 0.5 GW in 2006 to approximately
5.0 GW in 2015 [34]. During this period, the CSP industry has de-
monstrated the technology's utilization for a wide range of applications
and strengthened the value of CSP with energy storage in developed
and emerging markets. The United States and Spain are the world
359
Energy Strategy Reviews 24 (2019) 358–369
leaders in terms of development and promotion of CSP technologies,
such that they are currently holding close to 90% of the global share in
terms of installed capacity [15]. However, the CSP market has shown
some shifts by the emergence of new markets such as South Africa,
Morocco, Chile, and China, which have taken remarkable steps in the
development and deployment of CSP power plants; bringing an im-
portant contribution to the sector [34].
The CSP sector is currently experiencing a solid development
pathway to substantially increase the installed capacity in the next
coming years, providing a firm base for continuous growth in the fu-
ture. Fig. 2 presents the current market status of CSP around the world
including the operational plants, under construction and planned or
under development CSP projects [34].
Further growth of the CSP sector is a key factor for a global shift
towards a 100% renewable energy share by 2050 [15]. The CSP in-
dustry is bound to be one of the biggest and most efficient in the coming
years. With a significant potential for cost reduction, CSP technologies
have the capability to be economically viable in the sunny regions
around the globe. The recent challenges experienced in the CSP sector
owe to political and financial instability in the markets as well as in-
tense competition with other renewable energy technologies particu-
larly PVs. However, with advanced technological and cost reduction
developments in conjunction with appropriate support, it is expected
that CSPs can provide a substantial contribution to providing global
electricity demands. In the following subsections, the current and future
statuses of the CSP market in some nominated countries are presented
and then an overall outlook of CSP markets is offered.
2.1. Spain
The CSP market in Spain has been mainly driven using desirable
feed-in tariff which provided a suitable condition for developing re-
newable energy projects. Spain is currently the only country with a
noticeable CSP market, which meets 2% of the total annual electricity
of the country. Since 2010, Spain has held the first rank in the CSP
market, such that its total installed capacity reached over 2350 MW by
the end of 2015. The major portion of CSP projects in Spain uses
parabolic trough technology. Three solar tower systems have been de-
veloped in Spain; two of them are based on steam and one on molten
salt. Furthermore, there are two linear Fresnel reflector systems with a
total capacity of 31 MW and a hybrid parabolic trough biomass power
plant with a capacity of 22 MW. Approximately 40% of the Spanish CSP
power plants utilize molten salt thermal storage systems to increase the
flexibility of the plants and generate dispatchable power. Despite being
the world leader, no plant became operational in 2015 or in the first
half of 2016. Also, no announcement has come out in the same period
regarding any new construction or under development CSP plants [34].
2.2. United States
The total installed capacity in the United States exceeded over
1.7 GW by the end of 2015 after the addition of 110 MW in 2016. The
combinations of the following three primary incentives in the United
States have brought significant growth in terms of CSP development:
(1) Federal investment tax credit, (2) State renewable portfolio stan-
dards and (3) US DOE loan guarantees. These incentives have enabled
construction of five CSP projects with a total capacity of more than
1300 MW, receiving the total loan guarantees of $5.84 billion. After
those five plants became operational between 2013 and 2015, con-
struction of new CSP plants has not been initiated. This is due to lack of
support and the absence of the previous incentives for start of new CSP
projects. Additionally, the US is experiencing new challenges such as a
surging PV sector and low prices of natural gas. Extending the federal
investment tax credit and increasing the renewables portfolio standard
(RPS) targets are among the major factors that might influence the
future of CSP market in the US [15,34].
K. Mohammadi and H. Khorasanizadeh Energy Strategy Reviews 24 (2019) 358–369

Fig. 1. Global map of the long-term average of the total daily and annual DNI (kWh/m2) [33].

Fig. 2. Current CSP market status around the world [34].

2.3. South Africa 2.4. Morocco

South Africa, which has one of the best DNI resources in some parts
of the country, declared its first CSP projects operational in 2015, in-
cluding the 100 MW KaXu Solar One facility and the 50 MW Bokpoort
facility. In early 2016, South Africa announced the operation of its third
plant called Khi Solar One facility with a capacity of 50 MW, that made
the total capacity of 200 MW. At the current time, South Africa has
more than 200 MW under construction CSP capacity, and has plan to
bring more plants online within the next close years, making itself an
influential country in the CSP market [15,34].
Morocco has targeted specific goals towards the development of CSP
plants in the following years. The country launched its first plant as an
integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) in 2010 named ISCC Ain Beni
Mathar. This hybrid CSP plant has a capacity of 470 MW, which consists
of a combined cycle and a 20 MW solar plant using parabolic trough
solar collectors. Morocco is currently developing a complex CSP project
called Noor power station or Ouarzazate solar power station (OSPS).
The first phase (Noor I), which uses parabolic trough solar collectors,
has a net capacity of 160 MW with 3 h of storage capability and became

360
K. Mohammadi and H. Khorasanizadeh
operational in late 2015. The second and third phases (Noor II and III)
are presently under construction. Noor II is a parabolic trough plant
with net capacity of 200 MW and 5 h of energy storage capability. Noor
III uses solar tower technology with a gross capacity of 150 MW and
capability of 5 h of energy storage. The Noor complex project will be
the largest CSP plant in the world upon completion [15,34].
2.5. Chile
Chile, as a new emerging market for CSP sector, enjoys the highest
DNI potential in the world. Because of its huge DNI magnitudes
throughout the year, the CSP in Chile is currently competitive with
traditional power sources. Chile is currently developing its first CSP
plant as Atacama-1 complex, a parabolic trough technology with a
capacity of 110 MW and 17.5 h of thermal storage capacity, enabling
the plant to provide electricity 24 h a day. Chile has a target to develop
two more plants called Copiapó and Pedro de Valdivia. The Copiapó
plant will use solar tower technology with a total capacity of 260 MW
and 14 h of storage potential while the Pedro de Valdivia plant will
utilize parabolic trough system with a net capacity of 360 MW and
10.5 h of storage capability [34].
2.6. China
China has set a target of 10 GW operational CSP plants by the end of
2020. China launched its first CSP plant in August 2012 called the
Dahan Power Plant, which uses a solar tower system in conjunction
with 1 MW capacity. The Supcon solar project is the second CSP plant
with a total capacity of 50 MW. Its first phase has the capacity of 10 MW
and became operational in July 2013, the second phase is currently
under construction. There are other announced CSP plants including
the Delingha solar thermal power project (50 MW), the Golmud
(200 MW) and the Qinghai Delingha solar thermal generation project
(270 MW), all of which are under construction. Presumably, additional
capacities with several hundred MWs should be in different phases of
construction and development, even though their completion times are
unclear [15,34].
2.7. Outlook of the CSP market
Due to technology maturity, reduction in the capital costs, en-
hancement in the performance and economy as well as increases of the
tendencies and facilities to finance the CSP projects a substantial ex-
pansion in both emerging and traditional CSP markets like the United
States is envisioned. Table 1 presents the regional and global CSP ca-
pacity forecasts by 2030, 2040 and 2050. The forecasts are based on the
recent High-Renewables (hi-Ren) Scenario [35]. According to [36], hi-
Ren scenario sets a target with a higher share of renewables, which
need quicker development of PVs, wind turbines, CSPs and etc. Table 1
shows that regional and global capacity substantially increases from
2013 to 2030 so that by the end of 2030 the global capacity jumps to
261 GW. Also, by the end of 2040 and 2050, the global CSP capacities
reach to 664 GW and 982 GW, respectively. As seen, the CSP deploy-
ment is much slower from 2013 to 2030 than the succeeding periods
because the technological maturity, cost reduction, and investment
occur slower. This roadmap presents an annual average increase of
Table 1
Regional and global CSP capacities forecasts (GW) by 2030, 2040 and 2050 [35].
United States Other OECD Americas EU Other OECD China
2013 1.3 0.01 2.31 0.01 0.02
2030 87 6 15 4 29
2040 174 18 23 12 88
2050 229 28 28 19 118
Energy Strategy Reviews 24 (2019) 358–369
27 GW with an annual peak increase of 40 GW from 2040 to 2045.
According to the forecasts, the United States remains the global leader
and the largest capacity CSP holder followed by the Middle East, Africa
and India.
Fig. 3 shows the envisioned regional electricity production by CSP
market and the share of total global electricity by CSPs. In the hi-Ren
Scenario, the CSP market is expected to produce 11% of the global
electricity, in which the highest contributions belong to the United
States, the Middle East, and India. This roadmap envisions that under
the 2 °C Scenario (2DS), which aim to limit the global mean tempera-
ture increase to 2 °C, CSP will provide around 7% of global electricity
[35].
3. Status of CSP power plants in Iran
There are currently two operational CSP plants in Iran located in the
central and southcentral parts of the country. The main features of these
two plants are reviewed in brief in the following two sub-sections.
3.1. Shiraz CSP power plant
Shiraz solar thermal power plant is the first CSP plant in Iran, which
became operational in 2008. The plant is located near the city of Shiraz
at the south-central part of the country situated at 29°37′ N and 52°32′
E. The Shiraz solar plant operates based on parabolic trough solar
collectors to generate electricity. The plant has a capacity of 250 kW
(kW) which is currently being upgraded to 500 kW. The plant comprises
of 48 parabolic collectors in 8 rows of 6 solar parabolic trough collec-
tors, a steam cycle, an oil cycle, and a thermal storage system. The
length of each collector is 25 m with a 3.4 m opening. The oil used as a
heat transfer fluid is heated up to 265 °C and then enters the heat ex-
changers to produce superheated steam. The steam is then conducted to
the steam machine and electricity is generated by a generator [37,38].
3.2. Yazd integrated solar combined cycle power plant
The Yazd integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) power station is a
hybrid power station situated near the city of Yazd which became op-
erational in 2009 and from 2011 onward acts as a solar integrated
plant. The city of Yazd is the capital of the Yazd province of Iran and is
located in the central part of the country at 31°53′ N and 54°22′ E. The
Yazd ISCC power station is regarded as the world's first combined cycle
power plant using solar power and natural gas for electricity genera-
tion. In this plant, a parabolic trough solar thermal plant has been
combined with a modern combined gas turbine and steam power
plants. This plant comprises of two 159 MW gas turbines, a 132 MW
steam power plant, and a 17 MW solar steam generation unit with the
full capacity of 467 MW [39]. The schematic diagram of this integrated
solar combined cycle is shown in Fig. 4 [40]. As seen in this diagram,
the generated heat by parabolic trough solar unit is used in the pre-
heater of the heat recovery steam generator.
4. Potential assessment of CSP development in Iran
Prior to setting up a CSP plant, there are many practical and fi-
nancial issues which have to be evaluated. This section focuses on these
India Africa Middle East Other developing Asia Non- OECD Americas World
0.06 0.06 0.10 0.02 0 4.1
34 32 52 0.3 2 261
103 106 131 3 7 664
186 147 204 9 15 982
361
K. Mohammadi and H. Khorasanizadeh
Fig. 3. Regional electricity production by CSP market [35].
determinant factors for deployment of CSP plants in Iran.
4.1. Potential of DNI
Resource evaluation is the key and vital task for solar energy project
assessment. DNI is the most significant parameter to evaluate, simulate
and implement the CSP technologies. DNI data sets are available on the
global scale including for Iran from the NASA Surface Meteorology and
Solar Energy Program (SSE) [41]. These data sets have been derived
using a physical model on the basis of the radiative transfer in the at-
mosphere as well as parameterization of its absorption and scattering
properties. The NASA data set has a global spatial resolution of 100 km
(1° X 1°) for the period of 22 years from July 1st, 1983 up to June 30th,
2005. The description of these data sets has been briefly presented in
[42]. In this study, the NASA SSE annual average DNI data has been
collected for over 200 grids that cover Iran with the latitude range of
24°−41° N, and longitude range of 43°−65° E. The raw DNI data sets
were overlaid onto a state geographical map of Iran to produce a map of
annual DNI using ArcMap software.
Fig. 5 presents the map of magnitude of total annual DNI (kWh/m2)
in Iran. It is seen that DNI values in different parts of Iran can take
different ranges. In the north part of Iran close to the coastal line of
Caspian Sea, DNI can reach to values lower than 1400 kWh/m2 due to
high levels of cloud and precipitation in most months of the year. This
Fig. 4. Schematic diagram of Yazd integrated solar combined cycle power plant [40].
362
Energy Strategy Reviews 24 (2019) 358–369
can increase the amount of atmospheric absorption and scattering. As
expected, the highest DNI levels are available in the center and south
regions of Iran, including most of the arid and semi-arid places. The
high DNI potentials in these regions of the country are due to the
specific climate conditions of arid and semi-arid areas having a low
level of clouds, aerosol, and humidity. These atmospheric parameters
attenuate the magnitude of DNI in the atmosphere. The center and
south regions of the country receive DNI in the range of
2100–2400 kWh/m2, yet a DNI of 2500 and higher are also available for
some locations. The DNI threshold of 2000 kWh/m2 is normally set for
economic development of CSPs plants [27,43,44]. It is assumed that
below this magnitude, PV technologies which can use both direct and
diffuse radiation have a competitive advantage. Therefore, as clear from
the map, the center and the southern regions of Iran have promising
annual DNI which is suitable for economic development of different
CSP technologies.
4.2. Availability of suitable lands
Availability of large areas of suitable land is one of the challenges
regarding the development of CSP power plants. To construct a CSP
plant, a large area of flat land or land with very low slope is required.
Lands with an average inclination of 1% or less are the best [30,45];
however, inclination up to 3% is suitable but will increase the cost of
K. Mohammadi and H. Khorasanizadeh
Fig. 5. Map of annual direct normal irradiation (DNI) for Iran.
the plant. The land is required for the installation of different compo-
nents such as a solar field, power block, and storage system. Among all
components, a big share of the land requirement is for installation of
solar collectors. The land requirement for the construction of CSP plants
depends upon the plant capacity, the type of CSP technology, the solar
multiple as well as the extent of the plant storage system [30,45]. As
regions with high DNI in Iran are semi-arid and arid with very low
population densities, the required land for CSP development at utility
scale is abundantly available at very reasonable prices. In fact, as a
majority of these regions are semi-desert or desert, the lands are mostly
not suitable for agriculture purposes and are in the government pos-
session. Also, the existing cities or towns in these areas are not dense
and are far away from each other. Thus, very large leftover lands are
available in these regions. Most of these lands have a slope of 1% and
the rest less than 3% which make them suitable for construction of CSP
plants in hundred MW scales.
4.3. Water availability
CSP power plants need substantial amounts of water chiefly for
cooling purposes to condensate the steam and carry away the waste
heat from the cycle. This water requirement is mostly contingent upon
the CSP technology and capacity of the plant as well as the environ-
mental and weather conditions. CSP plants also require some water for
mirror washing and cleaning; however, the share for cleaning purposes
is very low compared to the amount of water requirements for cooling
purposes [30].
Iran is one of the countries facing water crisis challenges threating
many parts of the country, especially the arid and semi-arid regions.
Iran has yearly average precipitation of 250 mm or less which mostly
occur from October to April [46]. Precipitation in Iran is not spatially
and temporally uniform. While the annual rainfall in the northern parts
is more than 850 mm, there are some desert regions that receive a
rainfall of less than 50 mm. In general, Iran has an arid climate with low
levels of precipitation which is around one- third of the global average
[46]. Iran now has a big challenge with water scarcity crisis due to the
low annual level of precipitation as well as long-term inappropriate
government mismanagement and lack of planning. In 2014, Iran has
consumed 70% of its total renewable freshwater [46]. This is much
higher than a limit of 40% recommended by the international norms. It
is anticipated that water availability will become an even greater
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Energy Strategy Reviews 24 (2019) 358–369
challenge as a consequence of the increase in demand, population
growth and the effects of global climate change. Furthermore, con-
tamination and inappropriate exploitation of groundwater resources
have raised concerns about natural water resources in Iran in terms of
both quality and quantity [47]. In the arid and semi-arid areas, the
inaccessibility to the fresh water is an alarming issue.
Currently, due to the commercially availability of dry cooling
technologies, water scarcity cannot be an insoluble obstacle for devel-
oping CSP power plants in the locations facing water shortages [13,48].
Thus, dry cooling technologies can be considered as suitable alter-
natives to develop the CSP plants in the central and south parts of Iran.
The limited available water in these regions will be adequate for
washing and cleaning mirrors and other required purposes, which can
be mainly done at night time. Utilizing the dry air cooling system re-
duces the water requirement by more than 90%, but reduces the plant's
output and efficiency. This is due to the need for utilization of electric
fans for cooling purposes. This subsequently leads to increased cost of
produced electricity by CSP plants [49]. However, for utility-scale CSP
power plants, dry cooling technologies are expected to be further en-
hanced in the future to decrease or suppress the efficiency penalty.
4.4. Accessibility to the transmission lines
Proper power transmission infrastructures are required to discharge
the generated electricity by CSP plants to the grid [50]. The selected
location for construction of a CSP plant should be close to existing
transmission lines to minimize the cost of interfacing the plant output
with the utility grid. As of 2014, Iran's transmission network included
around 73,279 km of 132 kV, 230 kV and 400 kV power lines covering
most parts of the country. Of the total transmission line length, over
41% is at the 230 kV voltage level, another 31% is at 132 kV and the
remaining 28% is at the 400 kV voltage levels [51]. Fig. 6 presents the
map of existing and under construction main power line transmission
networks in Iran by the end of 2006 for two power lines of 230 kV and
400 kV [52]. This map shows that most regions of Iran are connected to
the grid. The network has been improved remarkably since then, but
unfortunately, no map is publicly available to be presented.
4.5. Other supporting infrastructures
During the development and operation of any CSP power plant,
K. Mohammadi and H. Khorasanizadeh
Fig. 6. Map of main power line transmission networks in Iran [52].
accessibility to the appropriate roads to transport the heavy construc-
tion and maintenance facilities to the desired site is necessary [45]. In
this regard, some remote locations with a high level of DNI may be
considered less suitable for CSP development. In Iran, there are
83,485 km highways, freeways, main roads, and secondary roads [53].
Fig. 7 shows the map of networks of main and secondary roads as well
as railroads in Iran [54]. Iran has a long road system linking most of its
towns and all of its cities. In 2014, 94% of freight transport occurred
through the road network, 5.8% via rail network and 0.2% through
airways network. The overall length of railway network in Iran is
11,106 km. Iran has over 3000 km coastline in both north and south
parts of the country making itself a distinctive place in the world. There
are 11 main seaports available nationwide, of which 4 major ports of
Bandar Abbas, Imam Khomeini, Bushehr and Chabahar are located
within Asian highway network. The overall length of the Asian highway
passing through Iran is 11,134 km. Within the Asian highway network,
there are 24 road border terminals with 7 neighboring countries in-
cluding Afghanistan, Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan,
and Armenia. Iran has the potential for acquiring a substantial share of
international transit. There are over 50 major airports in Iran, from
which 13 have international terminals and are well distributed over the
country [55]. Therefore, the existing transport networks would suitably
cover the majority of the country for transporting the construction and
maintenance facilities to the desired locations.
4.6. Potential of hybridizing CSP plants
Hybridizing the CSP plants with other energy sources, such as fossil
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Energy Strategy Reviews 24 (2019) 358–369
fuels plants as well as renewable energy sources like biomass, enhance
the performance by increasing the dispatchability and capacity factor
[56].
The hybridization of CSP with natural gas and coal provides a secure
prospect to accelerate meeting the renewable energy target while
making the solar power more reliable and bringing down its cost. One
possible cost-effective way to develop a hybrid CSP-fossil fuel plant is to
add a solar field to an existing power plant [57]. The hybrid CSP-nat-
ural gas plants can offset a portion of required natural gas for power
generation, lessen the variability of produced electricity and decline the
costs compared to the single CSP plants as they can be built on the
existing plants [58]. Hybrid CSP-fossil fuel power plants can be classi-
fied into two main groups: (1) those utilizing thermal hybridization,
and (2) those utilizing thermochemical hybridization. In thermal hy-
bridization processes, solar energy in combination with fossil fuel is
used for heating water and saturated or superheated steam. For ther-
mochemical hybridization, fossil fuels are utilized as chemical re-
actants, while solar energy is used as the process heat for upgrading or
decarbonizing the fossil fuel to generate a fuel that can be cleaner. The
first group has already had industrial applications, while the second
group is yet at the demonstration stage [57].
Contrary to the distinct CSP plants, hybrid CSP-fossil fuel plants can
use the existing infrastructure of a fossil fuel based power station which
leads to a decrease in required investment and cost of electricity gen-
eration. Moreover, it helps to solve the intermittency of solar energy,
reduce the share of fossil fuels requirements and mitigate the emissions
of greenhouse gasses of fossil fuel plants. There are different possibi-
lities for the development of hybrid CSP-fossil fuel plants reviewed
K. Mohammadi and H. Khorasanizadeh
Fig. 7. Map of roads' networks in Iran [54].
briefly in the following [57].
(1) Fossil fuel backup and boosting of CSP plants: This is the most ty-
pical type of hybridization such that many CSP power plants have
been developed in recent years that utilize a fossil fuel like natural
gas as a backup energy source in the absence of sun.
(2) Solar-aided coal-fired power plants: The heat provided by CSP
plants can be simply combined with coal-fired power plants for use
in the boiler or feedwater heaters. In this case, the output of a coal-
fired plant is improved without the need to increase the size of the
steam turbine.
(3) Integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) plants: In the ISCC plants,
the generated steam in the solar field is added to the water-steam
cycle of combined cycle plant to offer the advantages of both solar
and fossil inputs and boost the efficiency and output of the steam
cycle.
(4) Advanced hybrid CSP cycles: In these cycles, solar filed and Brayton
cycles are combined for converting the solar energy to the elec-
tricity. This is in contrast with the three above mentioned cycles in
which solar energy is normally integrated with Rankine cycles.
Integration of CSP plants with biomass systems brings this possibi-
lity to fully exploit the features of the single technologies and to
365
Energy Strategy Reviews 24 (2019) 358–369
increase the utilization factor. Hybrid CSP-Biomass plants are currently
accepted as an appealing option to decline the investment and cost of
electricity generation by CSP plants and increase the dispatchability in
the locations with both high DNI and biomass availability. Hybridizing
the CSPs with biomass energy systems is also useful to maximize the
efficiency of the plant [59]. Integration of CSPs with biomass energy
system eliminates the energy storage requirement for continuous elec-
tricity generation. During the time that solar radiation is not available
(at night) or the sky is cloudy, the biomass power generation facility is
brought online enabling the continuous production of electricity. The
major difference between a CSP plant and a biomass plant is the type of
boiler used. The selection of biomass fuel is identified by CSP tech-
nology due to the difference between temperature requirements of
different types of CSP technologies such as parabolic trough, solar
tower, linear Fresnel, and parabolic dish. For a parabolic trough plant,
which has a mid-range temperature, a boiler should be designed to deal
with a biomass source that yield a mid-range temperature. But to match
the higher temperature needed for solar power tower, the biomass
needs to generate higher steam temperatures [60,61].
As mentioned before, Iran is one of the most hydrocarbon-rich areas
in the world. Coal has a negligible share in the energy mix of the
country. Iran has the second largest natural gas reserves in the world,
which are around 29.6 trillion cubic meters amounting to about 15.8%
K. Mohammadi and H. Khorasanizadeh
Fig. 8. Natural gas pipeline network in Iran [64].
of the world's total reserves [62]. The overall length of natural gas pi-
peline networks in Iran is approximately 11,610 km. The Iranian gov-
ernment has a plan to increase the length of Iran's gas pipeline network
to 62,000 km in 2025 [63]. Fig. 8 presents the map of natural gas pi-
peline network in Iran [64]. With the government's plan to expand Ir-
an's gas pipeline, this network will be further improved in the close
future. Iran has a total installed natural gas power plants capacity of
over 30,000 MW in different parts of the country [64]. Therefore, fur-
ther development of different types of hybrid CSP-natural gas plants is
indeed appealing in the central and south parts of the country.
Iran has also a good potential for energy production using biomass.
Different sources of biomass have been recognized in Iran. These
sources can be classified as: (1) Fuel wood, forest waste, agricultural,
horticultural and food industries, (2) Municipal solid waste (garbage),
(3) Manure, (4) Urban wastewater and (5) Sewage, solid waste and
industrial organic waste [65,66]. According to the latest study for 30
cities with population of over 250,000 (Fig. 9), the estimated potential
for power generation of biomass power plants is 800 MW including
incineration (311 MW), pyrolysis-gasification (217 MW), anaerobic di-
gestion (159 MW) and plant's landfill (112 MW), respectively [65].
Moreover, the feasibility studies have shown that the potential of
agricultural waste in the country is more than 6,919,745 tons per year
and the potential of power generation from livestock is approximately
311 MW [65].
Currently, there is one operational biomass power plant in Shiraz
and there are many under construction biomass plants in different parts
of the country. Shiraz biogas power plant uses gasification of biomass to
produce biofuel for a pilot thermal power station. The plant became
operational in 2007 and has a capacity of 1.065 MW with an annual
generation of more than 8000 MWh of electricity from biodegradable
wastes [65].
According to Fig. 9, five cities of Kashan, Isfahan, Shiraz, Yazd and
Kerman located in the central and south central regions of Iran with
favorable DNI resource, have also the potential for electricity genera-
tion using biomass. Therefore, hybrid CSP-Biomass power plants are
considered a viable and attractive option in the center and south center
parts of Iran. In this context, detailed technical and economic feasibility
studies should be conducted in the future.
366
Energy Strategy Reviews 24 (2019) 358–369
5. Drivers, challenges and policies
As of March 2016, Iran's electricity production capacity reached
74 GW and the government has planned to boost the power generation
to more than 100 GW by the end of 2021. In this regard, the Iranian
government and policymakers have set a target of 5 GW of installed
capacity from renewables by 2020 and an additional 2.5 GW by 2030
[67]. The ever-increasing energy demands inside the country, which
weakens the export of hydrocarbons, the subsidies of fuels as well as a
need for greater energy security are among the major incentives that
encourage the expansion of renewable energy systems in Iran. The
energy market in Iran was completely a monopoly before moving to-
wards privatization in 2004. The Electric Holding Company of Gen-
eration, Transmission & Distribution (locally called TAVANIR) had
complete responsibility for generation, transmission, and distribution.
Since 2004 the Iranian government has initiated the efforts for in-
creasing the private participation in the energy market of the country.
By the end of 2013, the share of private electricity generation reached
41% as the government sold several power plants to the private sector.
At the current time, around 60% of the distribution companies are
privatized and the remaining share is controlled by TAVANIR. Since
2010 the government has commenced applying a reform plan for en-
ergy subsidies. As a result, the energy subsidies in Iran have fallen
substantially. The primary aim of this reform has been modifying the
relative prices of oil products and the possible connection to the general
consumer price index. This subsidies curtailment can be regarded as a
major driver for further development of renewable energy in Iran [5].
Despite the efforts that have been made in recent years, renewable
energy utilization is yet in its infancy in Iran. The Renewable Energy
Organization of Iran (locally called SUNA) was established in 2006 to
bring promotion and encouragement in the development of renewable
energy in Iran. Currently, SUNA is in charge of all planning, policy-
making, promotion, legislation and financial agreements for renewable
energy. In July 2015, SUNA began to act as an off-taker and purchaser
of all electricity generated from renewable sources in Iran under
guaranteed 20-year power purchase agreements (PPA) and a new feed-
in tariff. The current guaranteed electricity purchased feed-in tariff for
solar power development in Iran and its equivalents in terms of US$ and
Euro is presented in Table 2 [68].
K. Mohammadi and H. Khorasanizadeh Energy Strategy Reviews 24 (2019) 358–369

Fig. 9. Potential of Biomass energy sources in Iran [65].

Table 2 $/kWh by the end of 2020 [70]. The continuous reduction in the LCOE
Current feed-in tariff for solar power development in Iran [68]. of CSP plants clearly encourages the further deployment of CSPs and
Capacity Guaranteed electricity purchased tariff $ per € per
corresponding investments in the country.
(Rials per kWh) kWh kWh There are many major drivers that further encourage the develop-
ment of CSP plants in the center and south part of the country. The
Over 10 MW 5600 0.18 0.16 current established feed-in tariff for solar power development with a
10 MW and less 6750 0.22 0.20
100 kW or less 8730 0.29 0.25
guaranteed 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) is attractive.
20 kW or less 9770 0.32 0.28 Comparison of envisioned LCOE of CSP projects in 2020 and later with
feed-in tariff gives more intensive for deployments of CSPs in the
country. The implemented subsidy reform plan in recent years is for
The economic viability of a CSP project is identified by available decreasing the high fossil fuel subsidies. There are robust grid infra-
DNI at the site and generated power sale conditions. If the set power structures across the country with high electrification rate of 98.9% [5].
purchase price is lower than the power production cost, incentives or In terms of environmental concerns, as a large share of electricity
loans should cover the cost gap between the electricity cost and the productions in the country come from fossil fuels, power plants are
feed-in tariff. There is a strong relationship between DNI, the output of known as high carbon technologies. Thus, deployment of CSPs provides
a CSP plant and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). In the sites that a possibility to shift from high to low carbon technology and to di-
enjoy higher DNI, the generated electricity by CSP planet will be higher minish the industry's carbon footprint.
and correspondingly LCOE will be lower. The LCOE of a CSP project is Despite the fact that Iran is among the first countries in Asia, the
also dependent upon the costs of investment, financing, and operation. Middle East, and North Africa that initiated development of CSPs, there
Considering the same price and financing conditions for the sites with are some barriers that hinder the promotion of CSP projects in Iran.
higher DNI the amount of LCOE will be lower. In recent years, the Financing seems the major current barrier for development of CSP
weighted average LCOE of CSP power plants were in the range of 0.20 projects in Iran, since the country has been under strict sanctions for a
US$/kWh in Asia and 0.25 US$/kWh in Europe. Because the capital while. However, the expected cost reductions of CSP projects can be
costs of CSP are decreasing, the current CSP projects are constructed beneficial to overcome the financial barriers and change the current
with LCOE of 0.17 US$/kWh and power purchase agreements (PPA) are status of Iran's CSP market. Another main challenge regarding the de-
contracted at even lower values in case of low-cost financing velopment of CSP projects is the yet low price of oil and natural gas.
[34,35,69]. Further cost reductions are expected in the future. In a high Some other barriers that raise great challenges for the promotion of CSP
renewable scenario, the LCOE for newly established CSP projects is project in the countries are lack of following factors:
likely to fall to 0.13 US$/kWh, 0.098 US$/kWh and 0.071 US$/kWh by
the end of 2020, 2030 and 2050, respectively. The SunShot program of (1) Certain long-term policy frameworks stipulating provision of en-
the U.S. Department of energy (DOE) envisions much more quick re- ergy for sustainable development and renewable energy technolo-
ductions in LCOE of CSP projects reaching to the low value of 0.06 US gies (RETs) promotion in the country.

367
K. Mohammadi and H. Khorasanizadeh
(2) Enough knowledge regarding the CSP technologies as well as po-
tential and benefits of deployment of CSPs.
(3) Suitable political, social and environmental policies that encourage
the implementation of CSPs.
(4) Enough knowledge for training, purchasing, assembling and main-
tenance of the CSP technologies.
To overcome these challenges, suitable and transparent policies
should be established by SUNA. Though government and policymakers
and recently SUNA have made efforts and issued policy directives, clear
advice has not been provided for stakeholders to apply them as stra-
tegies and long-term policies. This indicates a lack of implementation
guidelines. Therefore, advanced and aggressive policymaking is really
required for promotion of CSP projects.
6. Conclusions
The growth of the CSP market is an influential element to increase
the share of renewable power in Iran's energy mix. Despite the suc-
cessful experiences of Shiraz and Yazd CSP plants, which became op-
erational in 2008 and 2009, no new CSP plants has been constructed
since then. This paper reviewed the potential and viability of further
development of CSP plants in Iran by considering the effects of different
determinant factors. The feasibility analysis showed that a huge part of
the center and south regions of Iran including the arid and semi-arid
locations, receive DNI in the range of 2100–2400 kWh/m2 and even
higher showing the economic viability of CSP power plants construc-
tions. Considering the availability of abundant DNI resources, suitable
lands as well as accessibility to proper transmission infrastructures and
appropriate transportation networks, CSP technologies can be further
developed and adapted in large scales in the large areas of central,
south-central and southern parts of the country.
The possibility of hybridization of CSP technologies with other en-
ergy sources would be an appealing option to enhance the viability and
attractiveness of CSPs development. Due to available Iran's gas re-
sources and pipeline networks and different types of biomass resources,
development of different types of hybrid CSP-natural gas plants and
hybrid CSP-biomass plants are promising and reliable. Hybridization is
also technically feasible to increase the dispatchability and decline the
investment and cost of electricity generation by CSP plants. However,
detailed technical and economic feasibility studies should be conducted
in the future in this regard.
The current established feed-in tariff for solar power development
with a guaranteed 20-year PPA along with envisioned LCOE of CSP
projects in the close future with feed-in tariff gives more intensive and
further encouragement for deployments of CSPs in Iran. However, some
existing barriers at current time hinder the promotion of CSP projects.
Obtaining financing and low price of oil and natural gas in the country
are two major current obstacles for the development of CSP projects in
Iran. However, the expected cost reductions of CSP projects can be
beneficial to overcome the financial barriers and change the current
status of Iran's CSP market. The main barriers for the development of
CSP power plants in Iran are lack of certain long-term policy frame-
works for renewable energy development in the country and absence of
enough knowledge about the CSP technologies and their potential
benefits.A shortage of suitable political, social and environmental po-
licies to motivate the CSPs implementation is anoother barrier that raise
great challenges for promotion of CSP projects. Therefore, regulating
the current policies and establishing new advanced and aggressive
policies as well as implementing proper guidelines are required for
promotion of CSP power plants.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank University of Kashan, Iran, for the
financial support provided through the Grant no. 1396/12.
368
Energy Strategy Reviews 24 (2019) 358–369
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