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Masrik 1 Photovoltaics Plant

In 2017 the Ministry of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of RA came up with the project to build a solar photovoltaic 55MW plant in Mets Masrik. The project is referred with the name Masrik 1 PV plant because of its location being close to the village Mets Masrik. The usage of solar energy has become very widespread in Armenia in recent years in a smaller scale, mainly thanks to the installation of solar panels on the rooftops of various constructions. Masrik 1 PV plant will become Armenia's first utility-scale solar plant with 55MWp power and application of modern technology innovation. Armenia Renewable Resources and Energy Efficiency Fund (R2E2) strives to find successful entrepreneurs or companies who will be eager to finance, construct and operate the grid-connected 55 MWp Masrik-1 solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant project located in the municipality of Mets Masrik in the Gegharkunik Province of RA.

The structure of the Masrik 1 PV plant

According to the data gained from the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments of Republic of Armenia, the plant should have 20 units photovoltaic panel blocks with nominal output power of 2.3MW.
The R2E2 hired the ARIES to conduct a thorough investigation on the area for creating a more realistic and precise project.
The geographical coordinates and altitude of the location are as follows: latitude: 40º 13.564´N, longitude: 45º 43.565´E, altitude: 1930 m above sea level. This spot is very suitable for the installation of a solar power plant:

• There is an ample amount of solar resource on that area: 1770.1 KW/m^2 according to ARIES monitoring data
• The communication infrastructure is well-developed which can be more convenient for the stuff and transportation for goods and various utilities.
• The area is free from environmental limitations. There are no floods, very powerful winds, etc. So, the adverse effects on the processing of the plant because of the environmental unforeseen circumstances are almost excluded.
• The area is not surrounded by objected which may restrain the solar modules to create sufficient amount of solar energy via shading. The process of absorbing solar energy will be better thanks to the convenience of the predicted location of the projected.
  

The cost of the accomplishment of the project is calculated to be 65 million dollars, and by taking into account all risk factors, discounted payback period, and the cash flows generated by the operation of the plant, the internal rate of return (IRR) should be 15%, which is a good sign for a such operation.

The Origin of the Project

The project of establishing Mets Masrik 1 PV plant belongs to the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments of Republic of Armenia. The project was initially created with the assistance of the Development Foundation of Armenia. The installation of this program is a part of the Renewable Energy Investment Plan for Armenia which was approved in the framework of the “Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Program (SREP)” of the Climate Investment Funds. The Mets Masrik PV Plant construction is being undergone by the support of the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development.
The burden of finding successful and promising bidders to finance the project is on the shoulders of R2E2, which in turn, boosted a tender, the deadline for which was June 16, 2017. There were approximately 40 developers and consortia who were interested in this project. 21 of them applied for the tender, and only 10 consortia were qualified to pass to the next step of the tender. One of the major requirements to pass the first step of the tender was to possess a solar PV plant with power more than 110MW and be successful in that sphere. These 10 companies are as foloows:

1. TBEA Xinjiang Sunoasis (China) & Subsolar Energy (Netherlands)
2. Phelan Energy (South Africa) & Korea Electric Power (South Korea)
3. Shapoorji Pallonji Infrastructure Capital (India) & Risen Energy (China)
4. Metka (Greece) & Energy Phoenix (Lebanon)
5. Access Infrastructure Central Asia (UAE), Eren Renewable Energy (France) & TSK Electronica (Spain)
6. Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (Netherlands) & FSL Solar (Spain)
7. Acciona Energia (Spain)
8. Building Energy Development Africa (Italy) & H1 Holdings (South Africa)
9. Sky Power Global (Cayman Islands) & Enerparc Projects (Germany)
10. ContourGlobal (Cayman Islands)
    

The tender process will end and the winner will be known by the end of 2018. The winner will be chosen based on the previous successes of the company and the price they will offer. Because of the fact that this project will be beneficial both for globally reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emissions which in turn cause greenhouse effects and for initiating the increase of solar power usage as a main source of energy, the World Bank is willing to finance to the winner of the project up to $60 million to bring it to life .
The state government of Armenia is also eager to help to the implementation of this porject because the country does not possess any oil or natural gas reserves and the nuclear power plant is becoming adolescent. In such situation it is vital for Armenia to come up with a concrete strategic plan of obtaining sustainable energy resource. Solar energy can be an excellent option.