Solar Systems LLC to build 100 MW PV plant in south-eastern Russia

The Russian PV project developer Solar Systems LLC announced it has signed an agreement with power distributor IDGC of Northern Caucasus, a subsidiary of Russian grid operator PJSC Rosseti, for the grid connection of its 100 MW Staromaryevskaya PV project.

The company said the closing of the agreement with IDGC of Northern Caucasus was a key issue for the project, as it needs a 110 kV overhead line with a length of more than 100 meters. Solar Systems said the connection works are scheduled to be completed in 2018.

The Staromaryevskaya project will be located on an area of 250 hectares in the Grachevsky district of the Russian region of Stavropol, near the border with Georgia. The company said the project will be built in four phases, with completion planned between 2018 and 2019. The company will invest approximately RUB 13 billion ($226.8 million) in the project, which is part of its 225 MW solar pipeline in Russia. The company's projects, all selected in the latest round of Russia's renewable energy program, will be located in the Astrakhan region, Samara region, Stavropol Krai, Volgograd region and Republic Of Kalmykia.

A 15 MW project is currently under construction in Volodarsky, Astrakhan region, south-western Russia, while another 75 MW solar facility is being planned in Novokuybyshevsk, in the Samara Oblast.

Solar Systems is a unit of China-based PV plant operator Amus Sirius, which is itself a subsidiary of Harbin Electric Company Limited, a Chinese provider of a comprehensive range of electric power generation equipment. The company also owns and operates a 100 MW monocrystalline silicon solar panel factory in the special economic zone of industrial and production type “Alabuga” located in Yelabuga municipal district of the Republic of Tatarstan.