The Armenian government is subsiding interest rates on loans and leasing for storage devices paired with solar systems.

Government provisions, which took effect last week, introduce interest rate subsidies for eligible loans and leasing arrangements when acquiring storage systems that will store solar energy. Under the incentive, businesses can benefit from subsidies of 6 to 10 percentage points, depending on the financing arrangement and currency, for up to seven years.

A notice posted on Arlis, Armenia’s online legal information system, states that a loan covering batteries and their components can receive an 8% subsidy when using Armenian drams, while a lease can receive a 10% subsidy. The subsidy amount for foreign currency loans stands at 6%, and is set at 8% for foreign currency leases.

In each instance, the battery storage systems must be used exclusively for storing energy produced by solar plants or solar panels to be eligible.

In a social media post, Armenia’s Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan explained how the state support works.

“If you have a solar plant and want to store the energy produced, you can purchase accumulators using the new state support toolkit, subsidising the interest rate on a loan or lease,” the minister said.

Armenia’s storage market is still in its relative infancy. The country’s Energy Law was amended in May to permit the development of energy storage systems for the first time , subject to licensing. Systems smaller than 1 MW, or those above 1 MW designed for self-consumption, are exempt from licensing.

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