Three new solar power plants will go on-line in Yakutia before the year is out, Alexander Koryakin, Sakha Energo Deputy General Director for Innovations and Capital Construction, told TASS.

"Yakutia already operates 16 solar power stations with a total capacity of about 1.5 megawatts. This year we'll open three more solar power stations in three Arctic districts of the republic: Oimyakonsky, Zhigansky and Kobyaisky," he said.

According to Koryakin, renewable energy sources make it possible to save 277 metric tons of diesel fuel annually. "Renewable energy projects start paying back after about seven and half years," he added.