European companies take interest in buying Russian solar panels - Energy Ministry

MOSCOW, April 4. /TASS/. Russian producers of solar panels start making export contracts with European consumers, First Deputy Energy Minister Alexei Teksler told TASS on Wednesday. "They [Russian producers of solar panels - TASS] already have export contracts arising, particularly with Europeans, because [Russian panels - TASS] have high efficiency. These are different European countries," Teksler said. European companies show interest in importing Russian solar panels owing to their high efficiency, the official said. The Russian panels are already ranked among the top three ones by this indicator in their segment, he noted. "It is challenging for us to compete with China so far. Their efficiency is not always high but panels are cheap. Our efficiency is high, for example, for products made by Novocheboksarsk plant. Their already installed panels have efficiency of 22% but they are more expensive. However, when your space is small and you need to mount a panel on a house roof, for example, then the advantage [of high efficiency] plays its role," Teksler said. Russia has good prospects to start export of solar panels, the official told TASS in an interview earlier. Read more