Final hearings on EIA on construction of  "Ayg-1" photovoltaic plant   to be held in May

ArmInfo. On April 12, the fourth public hearings on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the construction of the "Ayg-1" photovoltaic plant, a joint  project of the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) and Masdar  Company from Abu Dhabi, UAE was held in Dashtadem and Talin  communities of the Aragatsotn region of Armenia. This is stated in  the message of theArmenian National Interests Fund (ANIF).

"Ayg-1" will be the largest solar plant in Armenia. The Government  ofArmenia has set a target of reching its renewable energy production  to 15% of the overall capacity by 2030.  "Ayg-1" will provide for  half of this target.  The representatives of "EA Energy Advisory"  consultancy group, coordinating the EIA works and Masdar, presented  to the residents of the affected communities a brief description of  the activities and planned measures for the assessment of possible  environmental and social impacts. Representatives of communities,  community leaders, as well as representatives of environmental  non-governmental organizations were present in both communities.  

Masdarrepresentative  Carlos Ponte, informed that the solar plants do  not have any impact on people's health.  Only 6 and 17 percent of the  total pasture area of the affected Talin and Dashtadem communities,  accordingly, will be used for the construction. Carlos Ponte also  clarified the proposed community social support programs.  After the  presentation of the EIA, the representatives of Masdar and "EA Energy  Advisory" answered to the questions, which mainly related to the  company donation and general financial allocations provided to the  community within the framework of the project. Questions were also  raised regarding the start of construction works, the involvement of  labor at various stages of the project implementation and the  planning of access to the roads during construction.  The final  hearings are scheduled to be held next month, after which the EIA  will be submitted to the Ministry of Environment for approval. After  the approval of the EIA by the Ministry, Masdar will announce a  tender for the selection of the construction company for the project.    About 200 million US dollars will be invested for the construction of  the 200 MW Ayg-1 photovoltaic power plant, and the tariff for the  produced energy will be 0.0290 USD per kilowatt hour (kWh). 85  percent share of "Masdar Armenia" joint venture belongs to Masdar,  while 15 percent is owned by ANIF.  The project is planned to be  operational in 2025