Solar photovoltaic panels are being installed on the roofs of 100 apartment houses in Yerevan as part of a US$1.250 million EU grant program.

The Yerevan Municipality has kicked in $250,000 to the program, a part of the Covenant of Mayors initiative.

The 360-watt panels are manufactured in Armenia.

"Thanks to the program, we will have up to 50% savings in financial terms. If residents now pay, say, 100 units for the cost of elevator electricity, it will now be 50. But that amount includes interior and exterior lighting," says Andre Ohanyan, a national expert with the Covenant of Mayors Demonstration Support Project.

“The modules convert solar energy into electricity, producing a constant current that is converted into a grid by a converter and connected to the grid. It is clean, and just as important, renewable energy," says Vahan Madoyan, a consultant for the project.

Narine Abelyan, who heads the Yerevan Municipality’s Department of Development and Investment Programs says the buildings are between nine and fourteen stories, with flat roofs.

The EU Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy brings together thousands of local governments voluntarily committed to implementing EU climate and energy objectives.

The Covenant of Mayors was launched in 2008 in Europe with the ambition to gather local governments voluntarily committed to achieving and exceeding the EU climate and energy targets.