Russian module and cell manufacturer Hevel Solar has constructed a 2.6MW off-grid solar-plus-diesel project in the Chukotka autonomous region on the east coast of Russia, which the company said is the first of its kind in the Russian Arctic zone.
Completed through Hevel’s energy service business, the project is made up of two installs that comprise a 550kW PV array and a 470kWh battery energy system. The Moscow-based company invested roughly US$2.7 million in the scheme.
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Hevel hopes the plant will help the municipality reduce diesel consumption by 30% and save 2,130 tons of fuel over 10 years. It is automatically operated and will be used to provide energy for 700 households in two remote, local villages.
Previously, Hevel has built off-grid PV installations with a total capacity of 2.8MW in Siberian regions of Altay, Tyva and Zabaikalsky. The company operates an off-grid fleet of 40 solar plants in rural areas of Siberia and the Far East with a total solar capacity of 13.5MW. It also recently won 40MW of PV projects in a renewables auction in Kazakhstan.
Hevel is a maker of high-efficiency heterojunction (HJT) solar cells, which CEO Igor Shakhray said had massive potential in an interview with PV Tech last year.