Unique greenhouse working on solar heaters has opened in Basen community of Armenia’s Shirak province. Basen community leader Hamlet Petrosyan told Armenian News – NEWS.am that the project, implemented under the auspices of the Global Ecological Fund and with the co-funding of the community population, has turned Basen into a community, which widely uses alternative energy.   

“This is very important and vital now that the energy-related issues are on the agenda. We not only get free electricity and use it for economic reasons, but also save nearly 40% energy in the community,” Petrosyan said.

According to him, the greenhouse was ready for use as early as last year, but the opening took place on August 12 this year.

“We tested the greenhouse last year to find out whether the project will be beneficial to us. Consequently, we benefitted a lot, and held the opening on August 12 this year,” Petrosyan said. ”

Tomatoes and cucumbers grown in the new greenhouse are provided to the village kindergarten, which has saved about 1,5 million AMD for energy consumption due to the solar energy received since the application of the system.

Basen community leader also said that seeing the efficiency of the project, dozens of community residents have installed solar heaters on the roofs of their houses as well.