UAE’s Masdar wins tender for 200 MW solar power project in Armenia

Armenia has chosen Masdar, an Abu Dhabi-based clean energy company, to build a $174 million utility-scale solar project in the country.

Following an international tender, Masdar was awarded the contract at a price of $0.0290/kWh.

The 200MW plant will be built in Armenia’s Talin and Dashtadem towns, in an area where solar radiation is abundant and soil is unsuitable for farming. The project will be designed, financed, constructed, owned, and operated (DFBOO), with Masdar owning 85 percent of the project company and the Armenian National Interest Fund CJSC (ANIF) owning 15%.

“By winning the bidding for Armenia’s largest utility-scale solar project, Masdar enters an exciting new phase in our collaboration with ANIF and with the Armenian government. This is an essential step in Armenia’s clean energy journey; low-cost solar energy will assist to new companies, create jobs, and will turn it to a wealthy and sustainable future.”

“We have worked very hard to execute this deal. We are fortunate and happy to have Masdar as a partner in this critical period of Armenia’s energy diversification and transition to renewables,” stated Mr. David Papazian, ANIF’s CEO.

According to reports, a total of US$174 million will be invested, along with the construction of a new substation. The factory will cover 500 hectares and employ hundreds of people directly and indirectly. The tender was part of a Joint Development Agreement agreed in November 2019 between Masdar and ANIF to build renewable energy projects in Armenia with a total capacity of 400 MW.

Related: Masdar inks strategic agreement with Iraq to develop solar projects