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SKEPTICISM IN RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS AND PROJECTS COSTING BILLIONS
13:29 * 16.07.14
Investments projects for renewable energy resources are treated with
a kind of skepticism in Armenia as opposed to the billions of Dollars
worth foreign grants proposing maximum a pilot project.
Tert.am arrived at such a conclusion after talking to several
economists and experts and studying the situation in the sector.
Solar and renewable energy sources are expected to little by little
pave their way to the Armenian reality, yet there is no confidence
at all that private investors will have enough interest in funding
projects of the kind, says Khosrov Harutyunyan, a lawmaker from the
ruling Republican parliamentary faction.
The possible use alternative energy became a hot topic in Armenia after
the recent surge in the electric power prices. A quesetion of inerest
was why the authorities do not consider such a possibility given that
Armenia is an energy-dependent country, with the estimated price for
nuclear power being 100 times higher compared to solar energy.
Harutyunyan said he knows several hotels and restaurants that partially
rely on solar power, but he stressed the importance of making the
systems more powerful.
Asked to comment on Iran's interest in using a corresponding device
invented by Vahan Hamazaspyan, an Armenian scholar, the Republican MP
said he has no confidence about the seriousness of the country's plans.
"I am not sure they attract Iran, given especially that it is an
energy carrier," he told Tert.am.
And despite the general lack of confidence, Armenia's Ministry of
Energy and Natural Resources has elaborated a concept of renewable
energy sources and made the document available on its official website.
In particular, the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
in 2003 developed a map of Armenia's wind energy resources. The total
estimated capacity of cost-effective wind-power stations was found to
be 450 Mwt, with the annual electricity production being 1.26 billion
kilowatts per hour.
A network wind power station in the Pushkin mountain pass - the first
ever in Armenia and the Caucasus region - was handed over to operation
in 2005. Its total power is estimated to be 2.6 megawatts. There are
now plans for launching a wind power station (20 Mwt) in the same area.
In the frameworks of the EU-funded TACIS project, Support to Armenia's
Energy Policy, a monitoring activities was conducted in the Semyonovka
mountain pass of Sevan and a justification was later submitted for
funding construction of a 35Mwt wind power station.
It is further mentioned that Armenia produces solar heat collectors
with standard sizes of 1.38 - 4.12 m2 and that the American University
of Armenia uses solar-powered cooling and air-conditioning systems.
Asked by Tert.am about the significance of the studies in question,
a spokesperson for the Energy Ministry, Lusine Harutyunyan, said they
are just pilot projects.
According to Armen Avagyan, a member of the Public Chamber
Sub-Committee on Economic Development and Investment Polices,
the government-proposed projects are not based on properly made
calculations. "The Government projects are not properly calculated;
I say it, because I have personally been involved in different
development projects. They do not comply with international standards,
so the investors who come and see the projects are not properly
prepared, no longer delve deeper into it," he told our correspondent.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2014/07/16/disbelief/
13:29 * 16.07.14
Investments projects for renewable energy resources are treated with
a kind of skepticism in Armenia as opposed to the billions of Dollars
worth foreign grants proposing maximum a pilot project.
Tert.am arrived at such a conclusion after talking to several
economists and experts and studying the situation in the sector.
Solar and renewable energy sources are expected to little by little
pave their way to the Armenian reality, yet there is no confidence
at all that private investors will have enough interest in funding
projects of the kind, says Khosrov Harutyunyan, a lawmaker from the
ruling Republican parliamentary faction.
The possible use alternative energy became a hot topic in Armenia after
the recent surge in the electric power prices. A quesetion of inerest
was why the authorities do not consider such a possibility given that
Armenia is an energy-dependent country, with the estimated price for
nuclear power being 100 times higher compared to solar energy.
Harutyunyan said he knows several hotels and restaurants that partially
rely on solar power, but he stressed the importance of making the
systems more powerful.
Asked to comment on Iran's interest in using a corresponding device
invented by Vahan Hamazaspyan, an Armenian scholar, the Republican MP
said he has no confidence about the seriousness of the country's plans.
"I am not sure they attract Iran, given especially that it is an
energy carrier," he told Tert.am.
And despite the general lack of confidence, Armenia's Ministry of
Energy and Natural Resources has elaborated a concept of renewable
energy sources and made the document available on its official website.
In particular, the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
in 2003 developed a map of Armenia's wind energy resources. The total
estimated capacity of cost-effective wind-power stations was found to
be 450 Mwt, with the annual electricity production being 1.26 billion
kilowatts per hour.
A network wind power station in the Pushkin mountain pass - the first
ever in Armenia and the Caucasus region - was handed over to operation
in 2005. Its total power is estimated to be 2.6 megawatts. There are
now plans for launching a wind power station (20 Mwt) in the same area.
In the frameworks of the EU-funded TACIS project, Support to Armenia's
Energy Policy, a monitoring activities was conducted in the Semyonovka
mountain pass of Sevan and a justification was later submitted for
funding construction of a 35Mwt wind power station.
It is further mentioned that Armenia produces solar heat collectors
with standard sizes of 1.38 - 4.12 m2 and that the American University
of Armenia uses solar-powered cooling and air-conditioning systems.
Asked by Tert.am about the significance of the studies in question,
a spokesperson for the Energy Ministry, Lusine Harutyunyan, said they
are just pilot projects.
According to Armen Avagyan, a member of the Public Chamber
Sub-Committee on Economic Development and Investment Polices,
the government-proposed projects are not based on properly made
calculations. "The Government projects are not properly calculated;
I say it, because I have personally been involved in different
development projects. They do not comply with international standards,
so the investors who come and see the projects are not properly
prepared, no longer delve deeper into it," he told our correspondent.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2014/07/16/disbelief/