Russia to build its first solar photovoltaic plant

Russia’s high-tech companies Rusnano and Renova have announced plans to build the country’s first industrial solar power plant near the Black Sea.

The 12.3 megawatt solar energy plant will be built in the spa resort of Kislovodsk by the companies’ joint venture Khevel.

"This is a breakthrough into a different dimension," Rusnano CEO Anatoly Chubais told an innovation forum in Moscow.

The $97 million deal was sealed by Khevel CEO Yevgeny Zagorodny and Stavropol region Governor Valery Gayevsky.

Swiss-made thin-film solar panels will be used in the construction. The station may start operating as soon as 2012, Zagorodny said.

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