Nenskra Hydro Power Plant (also known as Nenskra HPP) is a proposed hydroelectric power station to be located on the southern slopes of the Central Caucasus mountains in

Svaneti Svaneti or Svanetia (Suania in ancient sources; ka, სვანეთი ) is a historic province in the northwestern part of Georgia (country), Georgia. It is inhabited by the Svans, an ethnic subgroup of Georgians. Geography Situated o ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. The plant has a projected capacity of 280 MW, and a projected average annual energy production of 1.2 TWh. It is being developed by JSC Nenskra Hydro, founded in 2015 as a joint venture between Korea Water Resource Corporation and JSC Partnership Fund. The project has faced significant opposition from representatives of all communities in Upper Svaneti.

General Background

The Nenskra river joins the river

Enguri The Enguri ( ka, ენგური, tr, xmf, ინგირი, ingiri, ab, Егры, ''Egry'' russian: Ингури, ''Inguri'') is a river in western Georgia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .

Description

Nenskra HPP will be constructed in the Nenskra and Nakra valleys on the southern slopes of the Central

Caucasus mountains The Caucasus Mountains, : pronounced * hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ, : pronounced * az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced * rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ * tr, Kafkas Dağla ...

Mestia Municipality Mestia ( ka, მესტიის მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Mesṫiis municiṗaliṫeṫi'') is a district of Georgia, in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti. Its main town is Mestia. It has an area of 3,045 km2 and h ...

. Construction is scheduled to start in 2020. Nenskra HPP is being implemented based on BOT (Build-operate-transfer) model that stipulates transfer of the ownership to Georgia 36 years after the HPP is commissioned.

Nenskra Powerhouse

The Nenskra HPP powerhouse will house three vertical Pelton turbines of 93 MW capacity each and with 280 MW total installed capacity. Generated power will be transmitted to a Gas Insulated Substation (GIS Substation) and through the transmission line will be connected to the country's power grid. Water flow of 47.0 m/sec will be transferred through a 15.1 km long and 4.5 m wide headrace tunnel to the turbines. In the close proximity with the HPP powerhouse, the headrace tunnel will branch into three separate penstocks to connect to the turbines. Water is transferred to a tunnel through a water intake located on the left bank of the reservoir creating a 130 m high asphalt faced-rockfill dam. The dam will be raised about 5 km off the village of Tita up the narrow gorge of the Nenskra river creating a live storage of 3,176 million m³. From the reservoir, water is to be supplied into the headrace tunnel. To improve the energy scheme, three low-pressure dams will be constructed in the Nakra river valley. Out of the created reservoir, 45.5 m/sec additional water is to be discharged into the Nenskra reservoir through a transfer tunnel allowing the Nenskra HPP to produce 1,219 GWh yearly. The powerhouse of Nenskra HPP is planned on the left bank of the Nenskra river on the edge of village Chuberi. The power unit will consist of the HPP powerhouse and near-located GIS substation.

Nenskra Dam & Nakra Weir

The main structures of the Nenskra

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

are to be a 125–130 high and 870 long dam on the upper Nenskra river to create a live storage of 176 million m³ and a reservoir area at supply level of 2.7 km². The dam will capture the flows of the Nenskra river and the adjacent Nakra river upstream of the existing Khudoni HPP reservoir, exploiting the available head of 725 m. The Nakra

Weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

is 8.7 m high and 44 m long located on the Nakra river and is built for impoundment and diversion.

Tunnels

The Nakra transfer tunnel connects the Nakra valley with the Nenskra valley and is approximately 12.5 km long by 3.5 m in diameter and will divert water from behind the Nakra weir and into the Nenskra reservoir. The Nenskra headrace tunnel follows the left bank of the Nenskra valley and is about 15.1 km long by 4.5 m wide. The tunnel connects to the surface penstock upstream of the Powerhouse at a level around 600 m above valley floor level. The

power unit In electricity generation, a generator is a device that converts motive power (mechanical energy) or fuel-based power ( chemical energy) into electric power for use in an external circuit. Sources of mechanical energy include steam turbines, g ...

will include the HPP powerhouse, tailrace for discharged water and GIS substation. Water will be supplied from the intake of the headrace tunnel to the end of the penstock. The penstock starts from the surge, which then transfers into the turbine tunnels. Waste water will be discharged into the Nenskra river by tailrace. During the operation, 3 units of

Pelton turbine The Pelton wheel or Pelton Turbine is an impulse-type water turbine invented by American inventor Lester Allan Pelton in the 1870s. The Pelton wheel extracts energy from the impulse of moving water, as opposed to water's dead weight like the trad ...

type electromechanical plants, each with installed capacity of 93MW will be installed. To defend from the probable maximum flood, the diversion tunnel dimensions are designed to deal with probable maximum discharge of 1 101 m/sec that is 3.67 times as much as expected discharge of 300 m/sec with the rate of once in 10000 years.

Reservoir

According to the previously drawn up plan the

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

will capture the flow slowly and gradually (layer by layer). The dam will operate in the natural regime of the river through a bottom outlet to keep the water at the level of 1 370 m.

Impacts

Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Reports (ESIA)

In 2015, the Nenskra Hydropower Project submitted the final Environmental & Social Impact Assessment Report (ESIA) to the Government of Georgia (GoG) as part of the national environmental permitting process. The 2015 ESIA report has been prepared by Gamma Consulting Limited, a Georgian consultant, based on field investigations undertaken in 2011 and 2014 and following the public consultations held in May 2015. The Environmental Permit was issued by the Environmental Authorities in October 2015. Several International Financial Institutions (the Lenders) have been approached to finance the Project. To ensure compliance with their Environmental and Social (E&S) policies, the Lenders recommended that a number of Supplementary E&S Studies be undertaken. In 2017 the supplementary studies-based report consisting of ten volumes was disclosed to the general public. The report is available at JSC Nenskra Hydro web-site. Based on the research made JSC Nenskra Hydro has prepared The Environmental and Social Impact management Plan. The plan aims at implementing mitigation measures during the construction and operation in compliance with Georgian legislative requirements and international standards. Disclosure of the report has started in March 2017. During the disclosure period JSC Nenskra Hydro should introduce the relevant report data to the general public of Georgia, Nenskra and Nakra valleys communities, NGOs, Government of Georgia and other stakeholders.

Economical impact of the project

According to the

National Statistics Office of Georgia The National Statistics Office (GeoStat) ( ka, საქართველოს სტატისტიკის ეროვნული სამსახური, ''sak'art'velos statistikis erovnuli samsakhuri''; საქსტატი, '' ...

, JSC Nenskra investment was among the 2015 direct investments Top 10. The Nenskra HPP Project will create jobs for the local population both during the construction and operation. 100% of unskilled labor will be represented by residents of the Nenskra and Nakra valleys. 75% of partly unskilled labor will be provided by

Georgians The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...

, out of whom 50% will be residents of

Mestia Mestia ( ka, მესტია ) is a highland townlet ('' daba'') in northwest Georgia, at an elevation of in the Caucasus Mountains. General information Mestia is located in the Svaneti region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti province (''mkhare''), ...

. In 2016, the project company conducted a study to identify the needs of the local residents. With the study findings and needs of the population in view, the project company launched a community investment program with the following goals: * create jobs for the local population through support and strengthening of local business * develop and reinforce the village areas through encouraging of agricultural business and collective farms * increase involvement of the population into economic and social activities * contribute to market and touristic business in the Nenskra and Nakra valleys

Social Impacts

Some 400 families live in close by villages (Chuberi and Nakra). The majority are

Svans , native_name = , native_name_lang = , image = File:Kartvelian languages.svg , caption = Distribution of the Svan language in relation to other Kartvelian (South Caucasian) languages. , population = –80,00 ...

, an ethnic subgroup of Georgia's

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

mountains with their own language, laws and traditions. The traditions, culture, and identity of the Svans' is rooted in their mountain location. For generations, they have lived in isolation and self-dependence and their livelihoods depend on forestry, grazing and subsistence agriculture. Approximately 28 households will be affected by the project's land acquisition phase, either through permanent loss of land or temporary loss of access to pastures near the dam and reservoir sites.

Geological & Environmental Impacts

rom a Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

nature preservation point of view, not all of these larger

ivers Ivers is the Name of the following people: * Donald L. Ivers (born 1941), former judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims *Eileen Ivers (born 1965), Irish-US-American musician *Julia Crawford Ivers (1869 - 1930), US-American ...

like Enguri and smaller rivers like Nenskra and Nakra should be used for hydropower generation." Prof. Dr. Frank Schrader, International Consultant on Hydropower, in his review of the Nenskra ESIA. The project site was originally proposed to be included within the European system of protected areas as the ‘Svaneti 1’ Emerald site. In January 2016 the Georgian government attempted to exclude all territories to form part of the planned Nenskra project, without providing any evidence that the Nenskra and Nakra valleys are less important in terms of biodiversity than the rest of the Svaneti region. This resulted in a complaint to the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats for a violation of a number of articles of the convention. The dam construction will also include constructions of bypass and access roads, high voltage transmission lines and substations. These construction may increase landslides. An indirect result of this project is also the increased chance of flooding because of the mudflows. These mudflows have the potential of blocking the Nakra river, creating flooding upstream.

is a

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

s and mud-flows sensitive area. The local cemetery and agricultural fields of the village of Nakra are regularly flooded by mud-flows. These mudflows have the potential of blocking the Nakra river, creating flooding upstream. Yet according to a review of the Nenskra Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), the

geologic hazards A geologic hazard or geohazard is an adverse geologic condition capable of causing widespread damage or loss of property and life. These hazards are geological and environmental conditions and involve long-term or short-term geological process ...

and potential adverse impacts on locals have not been properly evaluated.

Involvement of International Financial Institutions

The project involves the following international financial institutions:

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build Market economy, market economies. ...

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...

(ADB),

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the EU Member States. It is one of the largest supranational lenders in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt solutions ...

(EIB), Korean Development Bank (KDB), Italian Export Credit Agency (SACE) and

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank that aims to improve economic and social outcomes in Asia. The bank currently has 105 members, including 14 prospective members from around the world. The br ...

(AIIB).

Project implementation

The Project is being implemented by

K-water The Korea Water Resources Corporation (한국수자원공사, 韓國水資源公社, Korea Water Resources Corporation), or K-water, is the governmental agency for comprehensive water resource development and providing both public and industrial w ...

, a sole multi-purpose dam management company in Korea and international engineering companies, such as Stucky,

Mott MacDonald The Mott MacDonald Group is a consultancy headquartered in the United Kingdom. It employs 16,000 staff in 150 countries. Mott MacDonald is one of the largest employee-owned companies in the world. It was established in 1989 by the merger of M ...

and Lombardi. The company has announced "international tender" to select Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Contractor. Independent International Panel of Experts (IPOE) is monitoring all designs and activities, to ensure dam safety and its compliance with the environmental and social standards.

References

{{Reflist Hydroelectric power stations in Georgia (country) Proposed hydroelectric power stations Proposed renewable energy power stations in Georgia (country)