Clean Energy on the Biggest Norwegian Investment in Georgia to Date
Last week, when the news broke that a Norwegian company was investing eight billion Kroners to build a hydropower plant in Georgia, everyone got excited. And for a reason – first, it’s the largest Norwegian investment to come to Georgia so far, and second, much in tune with largest investment, the to-be-built plant will also be the largest of its kind in the country.
Eight million Norwegian Kroners translates to roughly $ 750 000.
The plant in question is the Namakhvani hydroelectric power plant (HPP), which entails the construction of a cascade on the Rioni River in Imereti region, consisting of two plants- Namakhvani HPP and Tvishi HPP, with a total installed capacity of 433 MW and an average annual generation of 1514 GWh. The company to see this ambitious project come to fruition is Clean Energy Invest AS (CEI), based in Norway, and they are no strangers when it comes to Georgia and building hydro power facilities.
They first entered the Georgian market in 2010, successfully winning, in a government-announced tender, a license to build, own and operate the hydropower potential on the Adjaristskhali river (in Adjara, Georgia) and its tributaries. This resulted in the construction of two hydro power plants on Adjaristskhali - the 187 MW Shuakhevi and 9 MW Skhalta HPP, while a third plant, the 115 MW Koromkheti HPP, is being developed by Georgian company Koromkheti Georgia LLC (KGL).
GEORGIA TODAY and the Businesscode TV show were privileged to have an exclusive interview with the Clean Energy’s CEO Bjorn Brandtzaeg, who was kind enough to provide additional details on the project development.
“We’ve been investing here since 2010,” Bradtzaeg says. “We were responsible for developing the hydropower potential of Adjaristskhali River, resulting in 187 MW Shuakhevi Project, the largest hydropower plant built in Georgia to date. Over these past six years, we’ve got to know Georgia and the Georgian market very well; we’ve great confidence in the policy framework here in Georgia and are delighted to do business here.
“As it is, the local market is acceptable, but what we are really excited about is this ongoing process of Georgia’s accession to the EU energy community, which spells further developments in the energy sector for Georgia. We believe that due to these reforms, before 2020 there will be a fully functioning energy market here.
“It’s a joint venture – Clean Energy is partnered with Turkish company ENKA, one of the largest construction companies in the world. Clean Energy developed the Shuakhevi project (187 MW) from scratch, so we have a lot of experience in structuring up and developing complex hydropower projects. As for ENKA, they are currently constructing for BP in Georgia, so that also gives you some idea of their reliability. All of this makes us believe we have the right expertise to pull it off.
“So far, we haven’t discussed any further details with the government – after all, we won the tender only last week. In February, we’ll start intensive discussions with the government on the framework for the project development. It needs to be said that the government looks at this project as a strategic priority – it is the largest hydro project ever to be developed in Georgia and it also comes with a big reservoir. What that means is that Georgia is going to be more flexible in its energy system, while the Georgian people will have more stable access to electricity."
In closing, Brandtzaeg emphasized that Clean Energy is a responsible investor: “I’d like to underline one thing - this is a very complex infrastructure project and what we will ensure first and foremost is that people affected by this project will receive fair compensation.”
What could we possibly add? Looks like both the company and its CEO are capable and very confident that the project will be a success.
Vazha Tavberidze