INTERVIEW - Avelar Solar to build 250 MW in Russia’s Altai

Dec 15, 2014 - Russian company Avelar Solar Technologies, a unit of Hevel Solar, is set to ramp up its presence in the Altai region by building 10 solar power plants there with a combined capacity of 250 MW.

The first four photovoltaic (PV) facilities, of 45 MW in total, are expected to be completed by 2020. The construction of the rest is planned after 2020. The price tag for the 45 MW will be USD 87.7 million (EUR 70.5m), according to Anton Usachiov, Avelar and Hevel spokesman.

“Indeed, our company has set eyes on Altai as a region with a great solar insolation. Recently, our representatives along with officials from local municipalities visited the region and inspected the possible construction sites in the Alejsk and Rubcovsk districts. But at this point, it is still too early to speak of any conclusions as far as the costs and exact construction terms are concerned. We’re still in a preparatory stage in that pursuit,” Aidar Xafizov, Avelar Solar Technologies development and expansion director, told SeeNews Renewables.

Natalija Stojankova, a representative of the Altai Government, said that the sun-rich region is “very interested” in developing sustainable energy. She noted that “many things” regarding the construction of the 10 solar plants in Altai are still to be worked. “Even the actual number of plants is subject to change pending the selection of lots suitable for the endeavor,” Stojankova told SeeNews.

Avelar's parent, Hevel, is a joint venture between Russian conglomerate Renova Group and energy group Rosnano.

In early September, Avelar Solar launched a 5-MW PV facility in the Kosh-Agack district. An additional power line there will be interconnected with the transmission grid in the spring of 2015. “The price for the generation from the plant will not be clear before then, too, but we’re eagerly expecting to see solar power investments paying-off,” Usachiov told Seenews.

The Altai solar plant is the largest in the Russian Federation. The country’s President Vladimir Putin sent congratulatory greetings via a live TV conference during the inaugural ceremony on September 4, 2014. The plant will supply electricity to as many as 1,000 households and is expected to considerably decrease Altai’s power deficit and boost sustainable energy generation in the region.

More than half of the equipment for the Kosh-Agack solar plant has been produced by Russian PV makers. Necessary components came from as far as Krasnoyarsk, Kazan, Cheboksary, Kaluga, Irkutsk and Novosibirsk.

As Altai boasts over 300 sunny days a year, many renewables developers are interested in making inroads in the region’s sustainable energy network, but Avelar is well ahead in the solar pursuit.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!