FRV Energises Armenia’s Landmark Masrik-1 Solar Plant

• FRV commissions 55 MWac Masrik-1 solar farm in Armenia, powering 21,400 homes and cutting 54,000 t CO₂ as the nation targets 15 % solar by 2030.

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) has flipped the switch at Masrik-1, a 55-MW ac (62-MW dc) solar farm spread across 130 hectares near Mets Masrik in Armenia’s Gegharkunik province—now the largest photovoltaic facility in the country.

Built by China Machinery Engineering Corporation and fitted with roughly 115,000 bifacial panels, the project was financed by the International Finance Corporation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the EU’s Neighbourhood Investment Platform and Ameriabank. FRV secured a long-term power-purchase agreement with Electrical Networks of Armenia, locking in offtake for the plant’s output.

Masrik-1 is expected to generate about 21,400 households’ worth of clean electricity each year and keep more than 54,000 tonnes of CO₂ out of the atmosphere annually. FRV says the plant’s commissioning pushes its global operating portfolio past the 3-GW mark while underscoring the company’s strategy of anchoring new markets with utility-scale flagships.

For Armenia, the project is a timely boost. Yerevan has set a goal of lifting solar power to 15 % of domestic generation by 2030, and larger projects such as Masrik-1—and the forthcoming 200-MW Ayg-1 venture backed by Masdar—will do much of the heavy lifting. The country’s solar resource averages 1,700 kWh per square metre, around 60 % higher than the European mean, giving developers a natural advantage as equipment prices fall and financing windows widen.

FRV’s chief business-development officer Tristán Higuero called Masrik-1 “a turning point for Armenia’s energy mix and a milestone for our own expansion.” With a shovel-ready pipeline in emerging markets from the Caucasus to North Africa, the Madrid-based firm says hybrid storage add-ons are already under study for Masrik-1 to firm daytime output and squeeze more value from Armenia’s high-irradiance peaks.