It’s high time the government thought of alternative sources of energy production, director of Techno eco LLC said.

Dwelling on the hike in gas prices, Michael Martirosyan said it will drag the country into poverty.

In this context, he cited the example of European countries, where the government covers the development of alternative sources of energy.

“Solar panels were installed last year in the territory of Yerevan Physics Institute in cooperation with UK-based companies. The volume of sales totaled only USD 10 mln for the past 10 months,” the expert said, adding that the energy efficiency law drafted in Armenia never went into effect.

Mr. Martirosyan noted that the country’s hydro power plants generate only 30% of the country’s total energy volume.

Armenian Consumers' Association Chairman Armen Poghosyan, in turn, shared the viewpoint urging Armenia government to think of alternative sources of energy production, given the EU calls to close down Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant.