ArmInfo. As the solar energy industry of Armenia develops, a more accurate estimate will be given regarding the ability of the republic's energy system to receive electricity from the solar energy facilities of the country.
"It is possible that in the future, in the conditions of more active development of regional trade, Armenia's energy system will be able to take not 70 MW of solar energy, as the head of the Energy Ministry (Ashot Manukyan, editor) stated earlier, but more," said the deputy minister of energy infrastructures and natural resources Armenia Hayk Harutyunyan on November 7 during the launch of the Talin-1 solar power plant, located in the city of the same name, with a nominal capacity of 1 MW.
According to the representative of the Ministry of Energy, at this stage, surplus energy through the North- South energy corridor is sent to Iran and Russia. "We have established a mutual flow of electricity between the countries and today the surplus power systems are already exported," he said. As Harutyunyan said, following the construction of new lines and increasing the capacity of the power line, Armenia will be able to "digest" much more solar electricity, balancing with the help of regional flows.
At the same time, as the Deputy Minister stressed, solar energy is one of the most promising areas in Armenia, as one of the easiest in terms of construction - it takes several weeks to build a bottom solar station. Meanwhile, the implementation of projects in the field of wind energy requires from one to two years only to study the terrain. The deputy minister recalled that a month earlier, at the end of September, the first industrial power plant in Tsakhkadzor with a nominal capacity of 450 kW was put into operation. The 1 MW power plant launched today, the second one and today the largest one. In the process of construction of another 9 similar power generation stations. The Ministry of Energy plans to launch them in 2018.
Now in the active phase there is a competitive process for the construction of a solar power plant Masrik-1 with an industrial capacity of 55 MW. The prequalification stage of the international tender was overcome by 10 companies and one consortium. "The ministry will give its preference to that company or to a consortium that will present the smallest and most competitive price offer," said Hayk Harutyunyan.
Today in Armenia's Talin, Aragatsotn region on November 7, the largest in Armenia solar power plant with a capacity of 1 MW. The project was implemented thanks to a group of investors (Eduard Marutyan, Araik Karapetyan, Zaven Sargsyan and Hayk Chobanyan) and co-financed under the "Renewable Energy Promotion" program by the German bank KfW jointly with the German-Armenian Fund (GAF) through "Conversbank" CJSC. "After 5-6 years, while maintaining the current tariffs, the total production of solar power plants in the country will approach 1 GW per year," said Hayk Chobanyan, general director of Arpi Solar Company, the plant construction contractor.
According to the investment program approved by the government of the country, it is planned to build solar stations in Armenia at 6 sites with a total installed capacity of up to 110 MW. At the first stage, a site near the "Masrik" community was chosen, where a solar station with a capacity of 55 MW will be built. The total cost of the program for the construction of solar power plants in Armenia is $ 129 million. Of the six surveyed regions, the Spanish consulting company Aries Engineering has already submitted feasibility studies. They relate to the localities of "Masrik" in Gegharkunik region and "Dashtadem" in Aragatsotn region, studies on the remaining four localities continue. One of the main conditions of the contest will be the tariff offered by investors.
The climate investment fund for the development of alternative energy provided Armenia $ 28 million, of which $ 2 million - a grant and $ 26 million - a loan. The loan terms are soft - 0.25% per annum with a maturity of 40 years and a grace period for payments in the first 20 years. Grant to study the localities, develop a feasibility study for the project, calculated at a station of 100-120 MW capacity. The government plans to reduce energy consumption by 38% by 2020 and, accordingly, reduce energy costs. In Armenia, all conditions have been created for the installation of solar power plants - no licenses are required and the whole process is exempt from taxes. All the conditions for investing in this sphere have been created.