ABU DHABI — Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, also known as Masdar, signed a “joint development agreement” with the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) in the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the weekend. Armenian President Armen Sarkissian and UAE’s Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei attended the signing ceremony.
In a joint statement, Masdar and ANIF said the deal envisages the launch of solar energy projects in Armenia with a total capacity of 400 megawatts, which would nearly match the design capacity of the Metsamor nuclear plant generating more than one-third of Armenia’s electricity. They said this will require between $300 million and $320 million in investments, the bulk of which will presumably be made by Masdar.
“The first project planned under the [Joint Development Agreement] is a 200-megawatt utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the west of Armenia,” added the statement. It gave no dates for the start of its construction.
The statement quoted Masdar’s chief executive, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, as noting Armenia’s “considerable untap….
source Massis media
