Enguri / Vardnili Hydro Power Cascade Rehabilitation

The project concerns the preparation and implementation of the last stage of rehabilitation (phase III) of the Enguri hydro-power plant and the Vardnili Cascade. Enguri HPP supplies around half of the electricity consumed in Georgia and is an essential part of the Caucasus energy system. The immediate added value of the project will be the increased capacity for energy production and the safer and more reliable operation of the hydropower plant. The additional energy produced will serve to substitute energy from more polluting gas-fired power plants and could eventually be exported to Turkey. The project can also be seen as an element of stability in Southern Abkhazia and as a confidence-building measure. It further complements another NIF-funded project, the Black Sea Energy Transmission Project, approved in 2008.