The first phase (5 MW) was built and commissioned in 2014. The second phase, which has the same capacity, was built and began operations in 2015. The Kosh-Agach Solar Power Plant was Russia's first large on-grid power plant. In comparison with solar power plants currently being commissioned in Russia, whose capacities reach 100 MW, the Kosh-Agach Solar Power Plant seems insignificant. That said, for 2014-2015, when Russia's solar power industry was still in its infancy, the power plant was a breakthrough and laid the foundation for a series of subsequent new construction projects both in the Altai Republic and in other regions of the Russian Federation.
The capacity of the solar power plant, built in 2014-2015, is sufficient to cover all daily electricity needs not only in the Kosh-Agach District, but also in part of the neighboring Onguday and Ulagan regions. From the date of the power plant's commissioning to March 2020, its total output to the grid amounted to more than 65 million kWh. The power plant's capacity makes it possible to provide electricity to more than 1,000 households in the region.
The Kosh-Agach Solar Power Plant's output reduces the Altai Republic's energy deficit and its dependence on flows from neighboring regions, which are accompanied by large energy losses in the grid during long-distance transmission.
Commissioning their own generation capacities gave a boost to the socioeconomic development of the Kosh-Agach and neighboring regions of the republic. It was particularly beneficial to the growth of industries such as agriculture, tourism, and mining. In the Kosh-Agach Region, for example, significant reserves of tungsten, molybdenum, and other rare earth metals have been found. Their development was hindered by a lack of the necessary energy capacity. An expansion of industry, in turn, means new jobs and an increase in budget revenues, including for the development of social life.
After the commissioning of the Kosh-Agach Solar Power Plant, 6 more solar power plants were built in the region. Solar generation capacity reached 120 MW. Now more than 30% of the region's consumption is supplied by solar energy facilities.