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- Remarks by President Biden on Fighting the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Reporters slam White House for shouting down questions from the press pool
- We’ve never initiated an attack on any country; we want peace: interview of the Armenian Ambassador to US to Al Arabiya
- Frank Pallone congratulated on Independence Day, emphasizing significant progress made by Armenia
- We have decided to establish Park of Life, where trees symbolizing lives of all victims of Artsakh wars will be planted: Pashinyan
- Queen Elizabeth II congratulates Armenia on Independence Day
- Test news
- Անցած անգամ ասեցի՝ ինքը բոզ ա, հիմա ավելացրել եմ եւս մի կոչում՝ բիճ, բիճ Նիկոլ. Գեւորգ Պետրոսյան
- Russian peacekeepers organized the transfer of humanitarian aid to refugees and large families of remote settlements of Nagorno-Karabakh
- Susan Templeman MP supporting Australian recognition of Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides
First Major Solar Plant Built In Armenia
05:49 30 Sep 2017
TSAGHKADZOR, Armenia (RFE/RL) – Armenia’s first-ever major solar power plant went on stream on Friday, September 29 with a senior government official predicting the country’s growing reliance on renewable sources of energy.
The 0.5-megawatt plant has been built by a private company, Energo Invest Holding, in Tsaghkadzor, a resort town 60 kilometers north of Yerevan.
“Today is a historic day for Armenia as the first solar power plant has been connected to Armenia’s electricity networks,” the Armenpress news agency quoted Deputy Minister of Energy Infrastructures Hayk Harutiunian as saying at the inauguration ceremony.
Harutiunian said 11 more such facilities with a combined capacity of 10 megawatts will be constructed in the country by 2019. “Besides, we are holding a tender for the construction of a big solar plant with a 55-megawatt capacity,” he added, according to the ARKA news agency.
Solar and wind power currently make up only a tiny share of electricity produced in Armenia. The Armenian government has declared the spread of these renewable sources of energy a priority.
In July, Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan attended the official opening of Armenia’s first factory manufacturing solar panels used for power generation. The government exempted equipment and raw materials imported by its private owner from customs duties earlier this year.
The Tsaghkadzor plant is equipped with German-made solar panels. Energo Invest Holding claims to have invested about $500,000 in its construction.
“This is a pilot project,” a senior Energo Invest executive, Liana Lobasian, told reporters. She said her company plans to build larger solar plants that will absorb “large-scale investments.”
Energo Invest is part of the Tashir Group of Samvel Karapetyan, a Russian-Armenian billionaire businessman. The Russian-headquartered business conglomerate owns Armenia’s national electric utility and largest thermal power plant. It is also expected to start managing soon country’s state-owned power transmission network.
Karapetyan was the driving force behind the recent creation by three dozen Russian businesspeople of Armenian descent of a multimillion-dollar investment fund that pledged to finance various business projects in Armenia. The fund is said to be particularly interested in hydropower and solar energy.
News feed
- Remarks by President Biden on Fighting the COVID-19 Pandemic 16:27 22 Sep 2021
- Reporters slam White House for shouting down questions from the press pool 16:23 22 Sep 2021
- We’ve never initiated an attack on any country; we want peace: interview of the Armenian Ambassador to US to Al Arabiya 16:20 22 Sep 2021
- Frank Pallone congratulated on Independence Day, emphasizing significant progress made by Armenia 16:19 22 Sep 2021
- We have decided to establish Park of Life, where trees symbolizing lives of all victims of Artsakh wars will be planted: Pashinyan 16:18 22 Sep 2021
- Queen Elizabeth II congratulates Armenia on Independence Day 16:17 22 Sep 2021
- Test news 00:00 24 Aug 2021
- Անցած անգամ ասեցի՝ ինքը բոզ ա, հիմա ավելացրել եմ եւս մի կոչում՝ բիճ, բիճ Նիկոլ. Գեւորգ Պետրոսյան 14:13 1 June 2021
- Russian peacekeepers organized the transfer of humanitarian aid to refugees and large families of remote settlements of Nagorno-Karabakh 09:43 26 May 2021
- Wearing masks in open-air areas will not be mandatory in Armenia from June 1 09:38 26 May 2021
- No incidents were registered in Sisian section of border: Defense Ministry 09:35 26 May 2021
- Tete-a-tete meeting of Ara Aivazian and Mohammad Javad Zarif commenced 09:30 26 May 2021
- Tensions on Armenian-Azerbaijani border demand immediate measures: CSTO Deputy Secretary General 09:25 26 May 2021
- President, Human Rights Defender discuss situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border 09:25 26 May 2021
- Susan Templeman MP supporting Australian recognition of Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides 08:39 26 May 2021
- President Armen Sarkissian received the Ambassador of France to Armenia Jonathan Lacôte 07:02 26 May 2021
- Armenian-Iranian business forum held in Tehran 06:00 26 May 2021
- Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee Announcement 12:25 19 Mar 2021
- Billboards Call on President Biden to Recognize Armenian Genocide 12:22 19 Mar 2021
- Azerbaijan Destroying and Falsifying Historical Facts of Armenian Monuments in Occupied Territories of Artsakh 12:16 19 Mar 2021
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Անցած անգամ ասեցի՝ ինքը բոզ ա, հիմա ավելացրել եմ եւս մի կոչում՝ բիճ, բիճ Նիկոլ. Գեւորգ Պետրոսյան
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