Minister of Local Development and Environment Manal Awad visited Armenia's Areg Energia company to learn about the latest technologies used in the development and operation of solar power plants, as well as applications of artificial intelligence and robotic systems to enhance the efficiency of clean energy production.
Areg Energia, an Armenian-Cypriot joint venture established in 2020, develops solar power plants in Armenia. Its Areg 1 plant began operations in 2022, followed by Areg 2 in 2025. The visit took place on the sidelines of her current trip to Yerevan, the Armenian capital, where she is representing Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi at the Leaders’ Summit for Biodiversity, scheduled for October 16-17 under the theme “Leaders for Nature.” The summit is being held as part of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17).
The visit was attended by Egyptian Ambassador to Armenia Amal Afifi and Tamer Kamal, Head of the Central Administration for Biodiversity at the ministry. Awad stressed the importance of drawing on advanced international experience in renewable energy and exchanging expertise on using technology and innovation to support the transition to a green economy, reduce emissions and strengthen efforts to combat climate change.She noted that these efforts should complement initiatives to protect the environment, conserve biodiversity and achieve sustainable development goals.
The Minister and her accompanying delegation were briefed on Areg Energia’s smart management system for solar power plants. The system integrates real-time operational data with resource management software, artificial intelligence technologies and robotic systems, enabling operators to monitor plant performance and improve operational and maintenance efficiency.
Awad also reviewed robotic applications used at solar power plants, including water-free panel cleaning robots, thermal inspection and monitoring systems, and robots for managing vegetation around the panels. She also learned about the development, testing and manufacturing of robotic prototypes for industrial use.
The company’s technology aims to boost solar power generation efficiency and cut operating costs by integrating data analytics, automation and field robotics to improve the management of renewable energy plants. The two plants have a combined declared capacity of more than 12 megawatts of direct current (DC), supplying clean electricity to the national grid.
The visit aimed to explore international clean energy experience and innovative technologies that improve renewable energy project efficiency while supporting the green transition, climate change mitigation, ecosystem protection and biodiversity conservation.