Armenia’s first-ever factory manufacturing solar panels used for power generation was inaugurated on Thursday at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Karen Karapetian.

Its owner, a private Armenian company called Profpanel, claims to have invested so far $2 million in the Yerevan-based facility currently employing around 50 people. The Armenian government exempted equipment and raw materials imported by the company from customs duties earlier this year.

Karapetian toured the new plant after attending a ribbon-cutting ceremony together with Energy Minister Ashot Manukian.

A government statement on the ceremony said the plant can manufacture each year solar panels with a combined capacity of 10 megawatts. Profpanel has already supplied 1.5-kilowatt solar power systems to a number of small firms and private houses, it said, adding that the company also plans to export them.

The manufacturer says on its website that it also intends to create a “dealer network in Armenia consisting of startup companies specializing in the installation and connection of solar panels.”

Solar and wind power currently make up only a tiny share of electricity produced in Armenia. Karapetian’s government has declared the spread of these renewable sources of energy a priority.