Expert: Solar water heating (SWH) to become popular in Armenia

Solar hot water (SHW) systems will be widely used in Armenia within the coming year due to rising tariffs of gas and electric power, says Hayk Shekyan, expert in renewable energy.  He told media, Monday, that SHW will make it possible for the population and enterprises to save up to 2/3 of the funds they usual spend on gas and electric power. The expert said that large-scale production of Photovoltaic Solar Panels in Armenia can be competitive if the necessary metal and spare parts are imported on preferential terms.

Shekyan said that among alternative sources of energy, solar water heating panels are the most beneficial ones due to their optimal efficiency coefficient. He said that financial organizations of Armenia already offer leasing and credit services for acquisition of SWH systems. For instance, a family of 5 people will need a SWH system worth 300,000 drams (some $750, inclusive of installation). There are three companies producing such systems in the country.  Imported SWH systems cost nearly $1,500 inclusive of transport and customs costs. As regards photovoltaic power stations, the expert said, the period of return of investments in such stations is 15-20 years.

Hayk Khachatryan, Deputy Head of the Pure Energy NGO, said, in turn, that due to the geographic location, Armenia gets direct solar radiation within 80% of the daytime, while in Europe this index is 60%.  In Armenia 1 sq m of area receives 1700 watt of energy in average versus 1000 watt in Europe. Despite that fact, even the northern regions in Europe have significantly progressed in use of solar energy.

Khahcatryan warned that photovoltaic power stations occupy big areas. Therefore, it is expedient to install solar power panels on the roofs of buildings for local use of the generated electric power.

As regards other alternative sources of energy, Khachatryan said that in line with the surveys by Pure Energy NGO, the potential of energy generation on wind power plants in Armenia is 10,000MW annually, which is 10 times as much as generation at the Armenian NPP. He said that wind power plants should be built on highly mountainous areas and their construction is expensive.  He recalled that the only big wind power plant in the country is located in the Pushkin Pass, Lori region (2.6MW capacity). It was built in 2005 on a $3.5 million grant from Iran and generates electric power for 41.9 drams ($0.1) per KWh. There are also low capacity wind power plants that serve some villages.  Shekyan said that installation of new turbine equipment for 1 MW capacity wind power plants will cost $1-$1.5 million ($300-$400,000 for used equipment).

Khachatryan said that there is also big potential of thermal energy from underground thermal waters, specifically in Syunik region.

He thinks it necessary for the government to settle the problem of thermal isolation of buildings to prevent 20%-30% of heat loss.

Gas and electric power tariffs will rise 18.2% and 26.7%, respectively, in Armenia starting July 7 2013, the Public Services Regulatory Committee of Armenia adopted a relevant decision, Friday.  Head of the PSRC Department for Tariff Policy Garegin Baghramyan says that the Committee adopted the decision on the basis of ArmRusgasprom Company's application for revision of the gas tariff and satisfied it partially. Thus, the gas price for the consumers using up to 10,000 cu m of gas monthly will total 156,000 drams per 1,000 cu m instead of the current 132,000.  For those who consume over 10,000 cu m of gas monthly, gas tariff will rise to $276.98 instead of the current $243 per 1,000 cu m (up 14%).  PSRC adopted a decision to increase also electric power tariff as the expenditures of power generating
companies will grow.  Thus, in daytime, the electric power tariff for the population will make up 38 AMD per 1 kWh instead of the current 30 AMD and at nighttime the tariff will rise to 28 AMD instead of the current 25 AMD. For commercial users, the tariff will rise to 29-35 AMD per 1 kWh at daytime and 25 AMD at nighttime instead of the current 21-35 AMD per kWh daytime and 17 AMD per 1 kWh for nighttime depending on the volume of consumption.

By official statistics, in 2012 the share of electric power generation by heating power plants in total electric power generation, transmission and distribution (182.8 bln drams or $455.1 mln) totaled 45.1%. The share of HPPs in total power generation was 6.4% and that of the nuclear power plant is 9.8%. High-voltage power lines produce only 0.1% of total power generation, while power transmission and distribution totaled 38.6%.