Tarakhil Power Plant | |
---|---|
![]() View of the Tarakhil power station, near Kabul, Afghanistan | |
Country | Afghanistan |
Location | Near Kabul |
Construction began | 2007 |
Commission date | 2009 |
Construction cost | $335 million USD |
Power generation | |
Nameplate capacity | 105MW |
The Tarakhil Power Plant is an oil-fired electricity-producing power plant near Kabul, Afghanistan. Backed by USAID, the plant came online in 2009. [1] The plant, built at a cost of $335 million USD [2] and designed to provide a more reliable electricity source for Kabul, has typically operated at a fraction of its capacity and provided meagre annual outputs of electricity. [1] [3] A 2015 report cited the plant's average annual output as 2% of its capacity, due to the high cost of importing diesel fuel into Afghanistan. [2] [4] Press reports have frequently referred to the plant as the "white elephant of Kabul". [5] [4]
Land for the plant was donated by Afghan president Hamid Karzai in 2007. [6] Construction, executed by the US firm Black & Veatch, began the same year. [6] The plant was opened in 2009. [6] [7] While USAID had estimated that the plant would cost only $120 million USD, it ultimately cost $335 million. [8]
At full capacity, the plant burns 600,000 litres (130,000 imp gal; 160,000 US gal) of diesel fuel per day. [8] Designed to provide a more reliable electricity source for Kabul, from July 2010 to December 2013, the plant produced 2.2 percent of its rated nameplate capacity. [7] Between 2014 and 2015, the plant produced less than 0.5% of Kabul's electricity needs. [1] [9]
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cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link)
Tarakhil Power Plant | |
---|---|
![]() View of the Tarakhil power station, near Kabul, Afghanistan | |
Country | Afghanistan |
Location | Near Kabul |
Construction began | 2007 |
Commission date | 2009 |
Construction cost | $335 million USD |
Power generation | |
Nameplate capacity | 105MW |
The Tarakhil Power Plant is an oil-fired electricity-producing power plant near Kabul, Afghanistan. Backed by USAID, the plant came online in 2009. [1] The plant, built at a cost of $335 million USD [2] and designed to provide a more reliable electricity source for Kabul, has typically operated at a fraction of its capacity and provided meagre annual outputs of electricity. [1] [3] A 2015 report cited the plant's average annual output as 2% of its capacity, due to the high cost of importing diesel fuel into Afghanistan. [2] [4] Press reports have frequently referred to the plant as the "white elephant of Kabul". [5] [4]
Land for the plant was donated by Afghan president Hamid Karzai in 2007. [6] Construction, executed by the US firm Black & Veatch, began the same year. [6] The plant was opened in 2009. [6] [7] While USAID had estimated that the plant would cost only $120 million USD, it ultimately cost $335 million. [8]
At full capacity, the plant burns 600,000 litres (130,000 imp gal; 160,000 US gal) of diesel fuel per day. [8] Designed to provide a more reliable electricity source for Kabul, from July 2010 to December 2013, the plant produced 2.2 percent of its rated nameplate capacity. [7] Between 2014 and 2015, the plant produced less than 0.5% of Kabul's electricity needs. [1] [9]
{{
cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link)