Thermal power plants and gas turbines are among the most important sources of electricity generation in Iran. The combination of two major challenges—an imbalance between electricity generation and consumption and limited liquidity and financial resources—has turned the low-capital-cost electricity generation solutions from an option into a necessity. Compared with installing new power plants, upgrading existing gas turbines not only is faster but also requires significantly lower capital investment. Compressor upgrades, which focus on the cold section of gas turbines, involve lower costs and risks among all available upgrades. Therefore, the optimal use of compressor upgrades can substantially reduce the capital cost of rapidly increasing power generation. In this paper, the operational compressor upgrade options for the dominant gas turbine models used in Iran’s power plants were first presented. The power augmentation of each upgrade was, then, evaluated. Next, using statistical data on the maximum annual electricity consumption reported in the national energy balance reports, the share of annual electricity generation demand that could be met by the proposed compressor upgrades was determined. Finally, by modeling the capital cost of the upgrade plans and applying an optimization algorithm, the optimal selection of compressor upgrade packages was identified
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Ghadimi, M. (2026). Optimizing Capital Investment Cost for Rapid Electricity Generation Increase in Iran’s Thermal Power Plants: A Compressor Upgrade Approach. Energy Engineering and Management, 15(4), 61-78. https://doi.org/10.22052/eem.2026.259009.1182
MLA
Ghadimi, M. "Optimizing Capital Investment Cost for Rapid Electricity Generation Increase in Iran’s Thermal Power Plants: A Compressor Upgrade Approach", Energy Engineering and Management, 15, 4, 2026, 61-78. doi: 10.22052/eem.2026.259009.1182
HARVARD
Ghadimi M. (2026). 'Optimizing Capital Investment Cost for Rapid Electricity Generation Increase in Iran’s Thermal Power Plants: A Compressor Upgrade Approach', Energy Engineering and Management, 15(4), pp. 61-78. doi: 10.22052/eem.2026.259009.1182
CHICAGO
M. Ghadimi, "Optimizing Capital Investment Cost for Rapid Electricity Generation Increase in Iran’s Thermal Power Plants: A Compressor Upgrade Approach," Energy Engineering and Management, 15 4 (2026): 61-78, doi: 10.22052/eem.2026.259009.1182
VANCOUVER
Ghadimi M. Optimizing Capital Investment Cost for Rapid Electricity Generation Increase in Iran’s Thermal Power Plants: A Compressor Upgrade Approach. Energy Eng. Manag. 2026;15(4):61-78 (In Persian). doi: 10.22052/eem.2026.259009.1182
