Status and potentials of renewable energies in Yazd Province-Iran

The present study attempts to review and discuss the status and potential of Yazd Province in utilizing renewable energy sources with a special focus on solar and wind energies. Solar insulation data reveals that the region has great potentials for harnessing solar energy and implementing the related promising available technologies. The province is experiencing power generation by a 12 kW off grid PV system for electrification of Dorbid village for many years. Besides, the biggest solar energy utilization project in the Middle East, the installation of 467 MW combined gas-steam-solar power plant is dedicated to the power generation of this province. According to the experimental work conducted, it is shown that utilizing other low cost solar technologies such as domestic solar water heaters and solar ponds are also reliable means of serving supplementary thermal energy demand of the region. The local wind data shows that the province can benefit wind energy for running small wind turbines or driving wind pumps for water irrigation purposes. The highly subsidized energy supplied by the government is a major barrier of renewable energy adoption. However, the desubsidazation plan, which is to be implemented to the energy commodities by the Iranian government, will inevitably brings the employment of renewable energy to a closer attention.