Environment and Interdisciplinary Development

Environmental Impact Analysis of a Combined Cycle Power Plant in Southern Iran Using RIAM and COCOSO Methods

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Arash Shirzadi 1
Sahar Rezayan 2
Mohsen Dehghani Ghanatghestani 3
Seyyed Ali Jozi 4
Saber Ghasemi 5

1 Department of Environment, BA.C., Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas, Iran

2 Department of Environment, Sha. C., Islamic Azad University, Shahrood, Iran

3 Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, BA.C., Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas, Iran

4 Department of Environment, NT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

5 Environmental Marine Research Center, Environmental Department, BA.C., Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas, Iran

10.22034/envj.2025.512044.1491
Abstract
Introduction: The increasing energy demand has led to the development of large energy-related industries such as oil and gas and power plants. The combined cycle power plant is one of the most efficient, flexible and cost-effective industrial projects for electricity generation that is currently being built and operated in many parts of the world, including Iran. Combined cycle power plants, despite their high energy efficiency, are considered one of the considerable environmentally damaging facilities due to the production of various types of waste, air and water pollution. This has led to the need for comprehensive management of sustainable environmental development. One of the most important considerations for achieving sustainable development is to reduce the adverse environmental impacts of electricity generation. Environmental impact assessment is a process that evaluates the effects of human activities on the environment. The EIA goal is to maintain sustainable development to ensure the protection of the ecosystem and human well-being. In recent years, many studies have been conducted on environmental impact assessment of power plants, including combined cycle power plants. This paper aims to assess the actual environmental impacts caused by activities of the Ghadir Combined cycle power plant using the RIAM method and rank them by the Shannon Entropy and CoCoSo techniques. It has also been attempted to verify the accuracy of the predicted impacts by comparing the results of the impact assessment of the power plant that is currently in operation with the results of the environmental impact assessment report that was conducted in 2016.
Materials and Methods: The environmental impacts resulting from the power plant activities were identified based on the current conditions of the study area, reviewing the documents, and the opinions of experts related to the research topic. Subsequently, the assessment process was carried out using the Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix (RIAM) method for the identified real impacts. Then, the CoCoSo method was used to prioritize the real environmental impacts of the Ghadir Combined Cycle Power Plant.
Results: The results showed that the effect of industrial and sanitary waste disposal on aquatic life with a score of 16, the effect of emission of contaminating gases on the personnel health with a score of 15.9, and the effect of the disposal of industrial and sanitary effluent on the water habitat with a score of 14.4 are the most important. Finally, considering the identified effects and the type of power plant activities, an environmental monitoring program as well as corrective and control measures were presented to reduce environmental impacts.
Discussion: This study was conducted to identify and assess the actual environmental impacts of a combined cycle power plant. The results show that the most significant impact is related to water pollution due to the discharge of power plant wastewater into the environment. The most important factors affecting water pollution are related to the use of chemicals and extensive water consumption in steam and cooling units, which lead to the pollution of surface water resources. Therefore, a proposed program has been presented to monitor the parameters affecting the quality of the environment within the power plant. Previous studies have indicated that the most important environmental impacts resulting from the implementation of power plant projects are water pollution and emission of combustion gases, which from this perspective is consistent with the results of the present study.

Keywords

EIA
CoCoSo Technique
Shannon Entropy
Combined Cycle Power Plant
RIAM
Subjects
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Environment and Interdisciplinary Development
Volume 11, Issue 91
Spring 2026
Pages 1-19

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