By Arthur Alaverdyan
The “Future Armenian” initiative aims to unite Armenians and friends of Armenia worldwide to plan and recognize the direction the country will adopt in the future and discuss the future vision. Fifteen Goals have been singled out that touch upon different spheres we need to take actions upon, such as education, economy, energy security, etc.
These are not easy questions, and we are not looking for easy answers. This is a long-term commitment, and only with the help and active participation of experts and specialists across all fields will it be possible to come to wise solutions.
Energy-related issues are vital to be discussed. We started working in the field of Solar Power Generation more than four years ago. Here we want to share our experience. Fast Foundation and Solaron have initiated a grant project aiming to find groups of young specialists to conduct Energy-related research, evaluate the potential of Armenian energy resources, and build a strategy/roadmap of Armenia’s energy independence. Among other things, the role of the state in this sector will be studied.
Armenian energy consumption comprises a few elements: nuclear power, hydropower, gas and the newly developing solar power. Armenia depends much on nuclear energy consumption and much effort is necessary to use the power to the maximum of its capacity. The renovation of the NPP in Armenia is under consideration; however, closing the plant down will cause severe damages. The solution lies in the diversification of resources of energy consumption.
By Hayk Ohanyan
There is more or less complete data and statistics on the Armenian energy field from 2015-2016. This is one of the issues we should concentrate on – the availability of complete and transparent information.
Natural gas is the primary resource of energy consumption in the country. It takes up around 6-10% of primary electricity consumption, including gas consumption in households and transportation means. In 2016 83% of gas was imported from Russia, another 17% – from Iran.
The structure of electricity generation in the country is almost equally distributed among the three major resources: NPP, HPP, TPP. There are three big TPPs, 2 big HPPs. Renewable energy resources from 2% of electricity generation in the country and have a big potential to grow in the future. According to many world indexes of energy generation and consumption, the Armenian energy sector is quite diversified. However, the biggest challenge here is, of course, the dependency on energy imports.
Data shows that during the past 10 years Armenia has managed to increase energy generation by 30%, in the meantime the energy loss was decreased as well. There still is much potential for decreasing energy loss.
In comparison to other countries in the region and those with compatible conditions with Armenia, according to indexes of energy security, energy consumption, and environmental stability, Armenia is left behind.
Energy strategy 2040 drawn by the government includes 70 projects in 11 directions. The conclusion we drive from what we have analyzed is that the country needs to put its efforts into:
- Developing industry with high added value;
- Boosting energy security and independence;
- Increasing operational efficiency and reliability;
- Enhancing the stability of tariffs;
- Improving transparency, reliability, and availability of data and statistics;
- Setting long term ambitions yet realistic targets;
- Making the most of the current global energy context to the country’s advantages.
Most importantly, the key here is to gather a maximum number of field specialists, have brainstorming sessions and proceed from there.
By Hasmik Barseghyan
Future Energy 100 is a platform that enables young specialists on a national, regional, and international level to engage in activities and events to assist specialists in becoming the future leaders of the energy world.
FEL Armenia is ready to get involved in researching the most challenging energy problems in Armenia and collaborate with other companies in carrying out a needs assessment of specialists and know-how of the field.
Major directions FEL Armenia will be working on are:
- Education
- Effective communication
- Participation in governance
- International collaboration
There are many activities planned and a skillful team is in the process of formation, so all interested parties are encouraged to participate and join the network.
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