The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is lending US$1.3M to set up a small hydro plant on the Yeghegis river in Armenia.
Bazenc CJSC will use the loan to install a second turbine at the Yeghegis plant which, while only working for three summer months, will increase the company’s total electricity production by 23%. The electricity will be sold to the Armenian government, under guarantees lasting until 2016, at prices negotiated once a year.
Energy supply has been a critical issue for Armenia since independence in 1991. The EBRD is also supporting Bazenc in acquiring a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) status for its mini-hydro projects under the Kyoto Protocol on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting global warming.