Over the past few years, the pace of fossil fuel consumption has witnessed an accelerating trend across the world which has been really noticeable especially for the power generation sector. With regard to its global importance, the environment must be also preserved and emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs) as well as environmental costs need to be moderated. Given the urgency of energy preservation and environmental issues, the process of electricity generation should be evaluated. Accordingly, elimination of conditions along with prediction of energy consumption and pollutant emissions have been performed through energy simulation and modeling software tools, e.g., Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning System (LEAP). The energy consumption in thermal power plants for 2035 is estimated to be 209.7, 153.5, and 132.0 Bcm respectively for Reference (REF), Efficiency based on 5-Year National Development Plan (E5P), and Efficiency similar to UK (EUK) scenarios using efficiency improvement scenario of thermal power plants in Iran. GHG emissions for 2035 are thus predicted by 456.8 MtCO2-eq for the REF scenario, and 332.6 and 285.1 MtCO2-eq for the E5P and the EUK ones, respectively. Environmental costs for electricity generation system will also diminish via applying scenarios in this sector and its least amount, that is, US$835.8 million is related to the EUK scenario. Accomplishing goals such as better preservation of fossil resources and the environment will be consequently facilitated through improved efficiency and effectiveness of consumption of energy resources. To meet the objectives of environmental preservation, it is suggested to completely implement development plans and also make attempts to promote the technology of thermal power plants in Iran similar to that in developed countries. This study also compares the findings with those reported in recently published investigations.
Keywords: Energy efficiency; Environmental costs; Environmental preservation; Greenhouse gases; LEAP software; Thermal power plant.