Page 58 - GEORptDec21

judiciary are equally key elements to encourage (foreign) investment."
9.1.11 Renewable energy sector news
Residents protest against hydropower station in Georgia
Hydropower plants association complains about level of activists’ opposition in Georgia
Local residents once again protested against the construction of the Lopota-1 hydroelectric power station in eastern Georgia on 30 November, near the village of Lapankuri, Telavi municipality (Kakheti region), located in the gorge of the Lopota river.
As the protesters told local reporters, despite their dissatisfaction with the plans to build the hydroelectric power station, representatives of the Artana-Lopota company began preparations for the construction on 30 November, in particular, a tractor arrived at the site, and iron structures were delivered for the construction of auxiliary structures.
The construction of the Lopota-1 hydroelectric power station is planned 7 kilometers from the village of Lapankuri, and local residents believe that the construction work will cause irreparable damage to the historical monuments existing on this territory, as well as negatively affect the environment. “I have three children, grandchildren and their children, I want this gorge to be for them. We will not concede to anyone, we will lie down on the road and will not give someone the opportunity to build a hydroelectric power station here,” one of the protesters told reporters. The protesters stated that they were not going to disperse until the representatives of the Artana Lopota company, which was to carry out the construction, left the territory.
Local residents are protesting against plans to build the Lopota-1 hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 5.9 MW (with an annual electricity generation of 33.4mn kW/h) for the seventh year. Representatives of the Artana Lopota company, in turn, told reporters that the company received a construction permit from all relevant departments, and they plan to start in the near future. Meanwhile, the Georgian media reported that in connection with the action, the police were mobilized on the spot.
Most of the hydropower plant (HPP) projects in Georgia, with up to $4bn of investments, have by now been suspended due to protests, according to Giorgi Margebadze, executive director of the Association of Small and Medium Sized HPPs.
He is arguing in favour of small hydropower plants as they are less harmful to the environment—something which, however, appears to not be supported by the evidence. Small HPPs are likely to cause, per kilowatt of power generated, no less significantly adverse environmental impacts than large hydropower systems and some other conventional sources of energy, experts says. Georgia's government sees HPPs as a way to consolidate the country's energy security as domestic power consumption is likely to rise with economic development. It recently had to put on ice a major HPP project developed by Turkey's Enka Renewables after some 170 days of protests mounted by green organisations. The company announced on September 21 that it had pulled out of the Namakhvani project due to "breaches of contract" by the Georgian Government and force majeure, an event or circumstance beyond the control of both parties.
The project had proved controversial triggering protests led by the grassroots Save the Rioni Valley movement since late October, leading to government promises to revisit the project.Critics of the project, including several major opposition parties, have claimed that the environmental impacts and potential safety of the project had not been adequately studied, and that it threatened the valley’s unique local ecosystem.
58 GEORGIA Country Report December 2021 www.intellinews.com