Armenia’s Noyemberyan community transitions to solar energy

Noyemberyan community is transitioning to solar energy. The community authorities seek to spread the culture of using solar energy among the local population, Armen Amiraghyan, aide of the Noyemberyan municipal head told Armenpress.

“We find the installation of a solar station an important component of the community’s development. The program is approved, the premises for the solar station are chosen and have been approved by experts. Several technical issues are currently being finalized,” Amiraghyan said. The station’s output will supply energy for the street lighting and community offices. Initial estimates suggest the community will save 14-15 million drams annually through the use of the solar station.

“We find this program to be a priority component of the community’s development. We try to make the usage of solar energy a culture in our community. Energy saving is a very important factor, not only is it economically benecial, but also important in terms of ecology. When people see specic examples and efficiency, the usage of solar energy will very quickly become a serious culture,” he said.

The Noyemberyan community is consolidated, it comprises 9 settlements, including Noyemberyan town and 8 villages. The total population is a bit over 17 thousand. Locals are mainly engaged in agriculture and service sector.

According to the local ofcial, several reprocessing enterprises operate in the community, however with limited capacity. A meat processing enterprise is active, and its leadership is trying to enhance the capacity. In some villages, residents make their living by working abroad. Employment is also limited in the agriculture sector, because a part of the cultivating land is in danger zone – under Azerbaijani crosshairs.

The community has over 5 thousand hectares of land which can be cultivated, half of which is in a dangerous zone. In some years, the Azerbaijanis had cultivated lands from their side and then quickly set it ablaze, and the re spread in the Armenian direction. The first ‘solar village’ is considered to be Lernamerdz community of Armavir.

Under an implemented project, the water heating system of the entire village is operating by solar heaters. Solar boilers have been installed on the rooftops of over 80% of homes, and in addition solar batteries have been installed on 25% of rooftops. At the same time, locals were provided with energy saving LED bulbs. A total of over 40 million drams were invested in the project.