Page 55 - GEORptFeb22

Hydropower plants association complains about level of activists’ opposition in Georgia
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.
Margebadze complained about small hydropower plants facing public opposition and said that the risk of broken dams flooding villages is nonexistent. However, the green activists are pointing to other kinds of threats in the environmental sphere.
9.1.12 Utilities sector news
ADB approves $100mn electricity transmission loan for Georgia
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on September 21 the approval of a $100mn policy-based loan to support Georgia’s electricity transmission sector.
The financial backing is intended for “improving the operational structure, corporate governance, and financial management of the country’s electricity transmission company and its subsidiary.”
The loan, part of the Electricity Transmission Sector Reforms Program, aims to support the Joint-Stock Company Georgian State Electrosystem (GSE) and its subsidiary EnergoTrans to reduce their dependency on government funding and external borrowing.
The disbursement comes some three weeks after the government of Georgia preemptively refused a EUR 75mn loan on “highly favorable” terms from the EU, citing its wish to reduce foreign debt and avoid “political insinuations.” The 27-member bloc tied the disbursement of the loan, supposed to help Georgia cover its immediate financing needs that have increased due to the
55 GEORGIA Country Report February 2022 www.intellinews.com