New solar and wind power plants to be built in Armenia

New solar and wind power plants will be built in Armenia by 2040. Karen Asatryan - Director of the Renewable Energy and Energy Saving Fund of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of Armenia said this at a press conference.

Asatryan said that on January 18 of this year, a strategic program for the development of the energy sector until 2040 was adopted. It outlines the directions for the development of the sector, presents in detail renewable energy and energy conservation.

"In particular, in this strategic program, much attention was paid to the construction of new capacities, including the construction of new solar plants," he said.

Asatryan said that Armenia has great potential in this area, and it is planned to build solar plants with a capacity of up to 1000 MW by 2030.

"The volume of electricity supplied by these plants will make up 15% of the total produced energy," he stressed.

According to him, in addition to solar plants, it is also planned to develop wind energy. By 2040, it is planned to implement grid connected wind power plants with a capacity of up to 500 MW. He said that the plants will be built up in cooperation between the state and the private sector.

"Electricity tariffs will also play a predominant role: they must be competitive", he said.

Asatryan said that another important point of the strategic program is the liberalization of the energy market in Armenia. It is necessary to have an energy system of a new level, in which the purchase and sale of electricity will be possible, that will lead to a decrease in electricity tariffs.

"The new legislation assumes that every registered electricity producer will be able to sell their electricity to consumers," he said.

The strategy pays great attention to energy conservation, in which Armenia also has great potential. According to him, based on the calculations of recent years, thanks to the technologies used, Armenia has achieved  30-40% level of energy saving.

According to the National Statistical Committee of the Republic, the volume of electricity production, according to operational statistics, in January-March 2021 increased by 1.4% compared to January-March 2020, and electricity production in January-March 2021 was 2,112. 9 million kWh.

At the same time, this indicator in March 2021 compared to February 2021 increased by 16%, and compared to March 2020 - by 18.3%.