ArmInfo.Until 2030, Armenia intends to have only nuclear and renewable sources of energy in the structure of domestic consumption. On April 4, Deputy Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of Armenia Hayk Harutyunyan stated at a meeting with journalists. Thus, as Harutyunyan pointed out, thermal and gas stations will work for export.
Currently, 8 heliostations are in the process of construction, the total installed capacity of which is about 8 MW. The Ministry of Energy plans to put them into operation before the end of 2018. Last year, three solar power plants started operating on the market - one in Kotayk, Armavir and Aragatsotn regions. Their total installed capacity is 2.5 MW. At the same time, the permissible threshold for autonomous generation of electricity based on renewable energy sources from 150 kW / h is increased to 500 kW / h.
In addition, within the government program in Armenia, it is planned to build industrial-grade solar stations with a capacity of up to 110 megawatts. Of the 6 surveyed areas in two, 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. According to Masrik, there is already an international tender winner in the face of the Dutch Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) and the Spanish FSL Solar SL, who offered the lowest tariff from the future solar generating facility - $ 0.0419 of electricity without VAT or 20.11 AMD per 1 kWh of electricity , that is, 20% cheaper than from small hydropower facilities in Armenia (equal to 23.8 drams per 1 kWh of electricity). And, since, as the deputy minister admitted, the proposed tariff was in fact lower than expected by the government, in the case of Dashtadem, it may be decided to build it without holding a tender, fix the tariff, and liberalize the market for all comers. As Harutyunyan pointed out, it is already known that Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) and FSL Solar S.L are interested in building a more powerful station in the same Masrika. The question will be resolved within the next 6 months.
The potential of RES in Armenia, according to the deputy minister, is unlimited. Since 2015, the Ministry has carried out measurements and assessment of the solar resource. 4 meteorological stations measured and estimated the solar resource, as a result at this stage Armenia already has an updated "solar map", which is accessible to everyone. At the same time, the energy system of Armenia for today is able to receive only 70 MW of electricity from solar energy facilities of the country. As the solar energy industry of Armenia develops, a more precise estimate will be given regarding the ability of the republic's energy system to receive electricity from the country's heliostation. In the case of the construction of a power transmission line between Armenia and Iran, as noted by Hayk Harutyunyan, the 70 MW limit set at this stage will be unambiguously revised, as the system will be able to "digest much higher capacities." "Armenia has now proclaimed a policy of phased introduction of solar technologies in order to exclude a possible negative impact on the system," he said, adding that those responsible for the sphere in the daily regime will monitor both the introduction of new technologies and their impact on market, security and reliability of the system. Armenia, as indicated by the deputy minister, plans to increase the figure to 150 megawatts. As a result, by 2030 the share of RES (hydro and other renewable energy sources) in the energy balance of the country should be about 70%. At the same time, for today the deputy minister has refrained to name how much this process will affect the final tariff for the consumer, since the price for the consumer directly depends on the share of renewable energy in the annual electricity balance. For today the final tariff is formed on the basis of mathematical calculation by the formula the average cost of electricity purchased from HPPs, thermal stations and nuclear power plants, plus the costs of its transmission, distribution, etc.
