SIMPLE ECONOMICS:

"It's a very outdated myth that Russia doesn't have enough sunlight," Usachev said. "People ask us, 'Why are you building a solar station in the Ural mountains? There is no sun there!' Well, our data tells us differently."

Moscow-based renewables company Unigreen Energy, which has received a government guarantee that it will be paid extra for the power it adds to local grids, said Russia has more than enough insolation -- solar radiation hitting an object -- to produce solar energy.

"Most Russian regions have high insolation -- above 1,000 -- the level required to generate energy," the company said in a statement.

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