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Masrik 1 Photovoltaics Plant (Armenian : Մասրիկ 1 արևային ֆոտովոլտային կայան) is a project proposed by the Ministry of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of RA to build a solar photovoltaic 55MW plant in Mets Masrik. The project is referred with the name Masrik 1 PV plant because of its location being close to the village Mets Masrik. In November 2016, Public Services Regulatory Commission of RA set a price of 42.645 AMD/kWh for energy derived from photovoltaic systems. According to this new policy neither licences are required nor taxes are imposed for energy production via PV panels. This caused the amount of solar energy utilized to increse in Armenia but in a smaller scale, mainly thanks to the installation of solar panels on the rooftops of various constructions. Masrik 1 PV plant will become Armenia's first utility-scale solar plant with 55MWp power and application of modern technology innovations. Armenia Renewable Resources and Energy Efficiency Fund strives to find successful entrepreneurs or companies who will be eager to finance, construct and operate the grid-connected 55 MWp Masrik-1 solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant project located in the municipality of Mets Masrik in the Gegharkunik Province of RA.

According to the data gained from the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments of Republic of Armenia, the plant should have 20 units photovoltaic panel blocks with nominal output power of 2.3MW.

The R2E2 hired the ARIES to conduct a thorough investigation on the area for creating a more realistic and precise project.

The cost of the accomplishment of the project is calculated to be 65 million dollars, and by taking into account all risk factors, discounted payback period, and the cash flows generated by the operation of the plant, the internal rate of return (IRR) should be 15%, which is a good sign for a such operation.

Planning the Project
The project of establishing Masrik 1 PV plant belongs to the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments of Republic of Armenia. The project was initially created with the assistance of the Development Foundation of Armenia. The installation of this program is a part of the Renewable Energy Investment Plan for Armenia which was approved in the framework of the “Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Program (SREP)” of the Climate Investment Funds. The Mets Masrik PV Plant construction is being undergone by the support of the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development.

The burden of finding successful and promising bidders to finance the project is on the shoulders of R2E2, which in turn, boosted a tender, the deadline for which was June 16, 2017. There were approximately 40 developers and consortia who were interested in this project. 21 of them applied for the tender, and only 10 consortia were qualified to pass to the next step of the tender. One of the major requirements to pass the first step of the tender was to possess a solar PV plant with power more than 110MW and be successful in that sphere.

This project does have alluring aspects. The geographical coordinates and altitude of the location are as follows: latitude: 40º 13.564´N, longitude: 45º 43.565´E, altitude: 1930 m above sea level. This spot is very suitable for the installation of a solar power plant. There is an ample amount of solar resource on that area: 1770.1 KW/m2 according to ARIES monitoring data. The communication infrastructure is well-developed which can be more convenient for the stuff and transportation for goods and various utilities. The area is free from environmental limitations. There are no floods, very powerful winds, etc. So, the adverse effects on the processing of the plant because of the environmental unforeseen circumstances are almost excluded. The area is not surrounded by objects which may restrain the solar modules to create sufficient amount of solar energy via shading. The process of absorbing solar energy will be better thanks to the convenience of the predicted location of the project.

The tender process will end and the winner will be known by the end of 2018. The winner will be chosen based on the previous successes of the company and the price they will offer. Because of the fact that this project will be beneficial both for globally reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emissions which in turn cause greenhouse effects and for initiating the increase of solar power usage as a main source of energy, the World Bank is willing to finance to the winner of the project up to $60 million to bring it to life.

The state government of Armenia is also eager to help to the implementation of this project because the country does not possess any oil or natural gas reserves. Moreover, we should highlight the fact that the main source of energy in Armenia is Metsamor nuclear power plant which provides approximately 40% of energy utilised in Armenia. Because of the great hazards resulting from being located in a highly seismic zone, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) allowed Mecamor nuclear power plant to continue operating until 2027. In such situation it is vital for Armenia to come up with a concrete strategic plan of obtaining sustainable energy resource. Solar energy can be an excellent option.

Solar Resource Aalysis in Mets Mastrik
The R2E2 hired ARIES to conduct investigation in Mets Masrik for the implementation of Masrik 1 PV plant project. For Constructing a PV plant, one of the major premises is the availability of solar energy.

According to ARIES monitoring data, the best months for obtaining solar energy in Mets Masrik are June and July during which the index of Global Horizontal is 256.5KW/m2 and 260.0KW/m2 accordingly. In these months the PV panels can generate the most energy, because in this season the area of Masrik gets the most sun rays compared to the other part of the year. This is possible because the sun is mostly in the zenith. From the same perspective the worst part of the year is Jenuary during which only 40.5KW/m2 solar energy we possess. The area of Masrik is situated 1930 meters above the sea level which is very good for PV panels, because the higher the altitude, the less attinuated the solar rays become. In this situation we have only 1 airmass. Thus, the annual amount of solar resource in Mets Masrik is 1770.1KW/m2 which is a very good result internationally. There are some factors which may cause losses of energy at different parts of the system: Losses due to reduced module efficiency at temperatures above 25°C, annual losses due to snow and dirt preventing some light from reaching the modules, directly applied “across-the-board” loss used to account for lot average power output falling short of nameplate rating. These are the biggest ways to lose energy. There are more losses in the system however they are too small to be accounted.

General Description
The net power capacity of the PV plant is 46.55MW with a peak power of 55.45 MWp and ratio DC/AC 1.19. The photovoltaic system has 20 units and nominal output power of 2.3MW which are mounted on the structures with horizontal PV module assembly. The units consist of a series associations of several parallel photovoltaic modules. The ITC (Inverter Transformer Center) has 3 switch gears: Incoming switchgear, Outgoing switchgear, Protection switchgear. The feasibility study has been developed with a fixed structure. However, the final design of the PV plant can be with the help of the both fixed and tracking systems. The bidder is the one who will make a final decision to find the optimum configuration. The Fixed structure will be with 19 PV modules on each of the 3 rows, or 57 PV panels per structure. The panels will be oriented to the south and be connected to 152 PV fixed structures composed of 3 rows with 19 PV panels of 2.3MW ITC (Overall: 8664 PV panels).

Each 2.3MW ITC has two 1164kW inverters and Every ITC will have an auxiliary power transformer which will produce energy to necessary auxiliary services for the proper operation of the PV plant. The interconnection of the 20 production units of the PV Plant will be with the help of 2 circuits of 6 ITCs and 2 circuits of 4 ITCs, each through medium voltage cables (35kV). It is the best for these aluminum cables to be installed under duct through several trenches getting together in the Connection Center. The design measures to do the cable calculations will be the maximum drop voltage in the LV which is 2% in the DC side and 1% in the AC side. The internal medium voltage power lines (35kV) with 110kV PV electrical substation, which has a capacity of 2x63MVA through two lines (one line for each power transformer) connecting the PV plant with PV Electrical Substation, will be interconnected in the CC. A 10 km branch line system is going to be built and be connected to the tension towers of 110kV Kaputak and Akunk which are the closest tension towers to the PV Electrical Substation. The CC will have certified measurement system connected to the MV switch gears to get a measurement of the net energy. An auxiliary power transformer will give the necessary energy to devices from the CC.

Due to the PV plant location, the design of the main equipment will take into account the altitude of the site above sea level and it is easy to understand that there is a lot of snow in winter. The effect of snow is complicated and depends on several climate factors such as daily snowfall, snow depth, wind, temperature, temperature cycles. So the climate plays a role in system design, mounting structure specifications and, operations and maintenance plans. Generally, fixed tilted systems are loaded on sites with high wind or snow loads. However, some tracker suppliers have developed new products adapted to those kinds of climates. High snow loads increase stress on structural members and parts, so tracking systems require additional steel and other materials which will drive up the cost.

For estimating the expected electric output of a PV plant, a Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) is needed. The objective of a TMY is to represent the long-term average meteorological conditions at a site. The TMY shall be based on as many years as possible and be based on long-term historical data implications up to 20 years. Often, Measuring this TMY from the ground is not possible, because it depends on the weather station network available in a country or region. However, satellite data can provide the long-term data series, while ground-measurements provide more accurate data with highest time-resolution.

Installation and Civil Work Systems:
A set of PV modules connected in a parallel way with each other is aimed to generate a system with an optimal level of output alongside with the synchronization of the current ranges with the input of the inverter’s model chosen. These PV modules are hot-dip galvanized steel which ensure an adequate durability strategy and a useful service life which protects the conditions of soil aggressiveness and environmental conditions. Masrik 1's Generating system  comprises of 20 blocks of 2.3 MW operating and combined panels. Those direct current combiners possesses fuses and surge arrester as a way of installation protection and switch-disconnector to manipulate the maintenance and the operation. Moreover, the design of the generation system will account the location at an altitude of 1930 m above the sea level.

Regarding the equipment and assets of the plant, The role of the inverter is to convert the current from AC to DC or the vice-versa in order to evacuate to the grid and adapt to the application standard. The 173280 modules of the installation of 46.55MW (Each with 320Wp) needs 40 inverters for the PV plant. Secondly, The combiner Boxes or the Junction Boxes (JB) of the Plant are utilized to protect the strings from any electrical operational accidents and equip all the 30 strings into one output. These JB will also be connected to Fuses, Switch-disconnector, Overvoltage Devices (Electrical Discharge), Ground Terminal and Ground connection (To protect the device from electrical risks). In addition, 20 transformers will be applied to minimize the energy production losses and the Auxiliary Medium voltage power transformer will be located inside the Connection Center, employed to step down medium voltage of the grid connection of auxiliary services electrical consumptions maintained within the Control Center and in the Warehouse.

There are 2 categories of Cables: DC and AC cables. A grounding system installation should limit the effect of ground potential gradients to such voltage and should provide safety to people and equipment as well as ensure the continuity of the service. The total occupied area of the PV Plant is 973409 m2, where the installation takes into account 3 main factors. The area should be free from obstacles, the land should be sufficiently compacted base with a cleared vegetable layer, and the construction should comply with the geotechnical report conditions. There should also be three different types of roads: perimeter roads which will join the internal roads to improve the mobiliity; internal roads which will allow access to various facilities during construction, maintenance and operation on a safer way; and draingage roads which will serve for the drainage system in the plant. The design and the civil works will be implemented based on the RA Construction Standard requested by the ministry of construction. Moreover, the perimeter fence, the drainage and the water system will meet the environmental conditions as well as the ecosystem’s protection.

The MV Cables for the PV plant:
 * Conductor
 * Conductor Screen
 * Insulation
 * Insulation Screen
 * Metallic Screen
 * Tape Separator
 * Oversheath

There will be these types of CC Switchgears:
 * Transformer
 * Measurement
 * Incoming and outgoing switchgear

Different Building Infrastructures will be the following:
 * Control Center (75 m2)
 * Warehouse (75 m2)
 * Parking Lot
 * Inverter Transformer Center (ITC)
 * Connection Center (CC)

The Cost-Effectiveness of the Project
Financial part of the projects consists of several parts such as: installations, workforce, labor, investment, long-term and short term revenues and etc. All the estimations of ARIES which are made for power plant are directly connected to the global standards .Due to estimations the impact of increase or decrease of project CAPEX are shown the following table:

The key assumptions mainly refers to capital investments and financing, tariffs and ROE targets. The financial analysis and forecasts for the purpose of this study are based on the key assumptions summarized in the following Table.

The project CAPEX financing is determined to be performed by SREP, IBRD, commercial banks and equity. For the base case, the overall financing scenario of the current project is summarised in the following table.