Thursday, November 1 2018 14:53

ArmInfo. Small hydropower plants in Armenia have become a habitat for all kinds of abuses,  Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated on November 1 from  tribune of the National Assembly of Armenia.

According to him, over the past few months, inspections were carried  out at 150 small hydropower plants out of 180. As a result of the  inspections, it turned out that 95% of small electric power  facilities do not have water meters. Meanwhile, their presence is  required by law. In addition, generators are installed on most of  small hydropower plants that do not meet the requirements of licenses  issued. "This is just a catastrophe, creating good prerequisites for  hiding the real incomes of owners of small hydropower plants, and  this not mentioning environmental problems, when dozens of rivers  exist only on the map, and de facto they are shallowed due to the  construction of the same small hydropower plants, "Pashinyan said. He  also pointed out problems related to fish stocks of the country.

To recall, on October 24 the National Assembly of the Republic of  Armenia in  the first reading adopted the amendments to the Water  Code, aimed at tightening standards of construction of small  hydropower plants in Armenia. Introducing the draft amendments,  Acting Minister  of Nature Protection Erik Grigoryan noted that the  draft law  prohibits the construction of small hydropower stations in  fish places, as well as on rivers where the diversion load exceeds  40%.  Construction will be prohibited in forest areas, as well as  around  natural monuments. The acting minister noted that in many  rivers the  figure of 40% was not respected, often up to 90% of the  river flow  was taken to the pipe.

The draft law is not aimed at banning the construction of new SHPPs,   but at tracking their original purpose - the production of an   environmentally acceptable source of electricity. "The law is not   aimed at banning the construction of small hydropower plants, but at   their regulation and increase in productivity. The work of existing   small hydropower plants has led to serious environmental problems,  and they significantly affect not only the flow of water in rivers,   but also the ecological situation and almost the destruction of fish   stocks, despite the fact that they can work more environmentally   friendly and with a higher indicator of efficiency, "Erik Grigoryan   said. He noted that today many problems have already been identified   with existing hydroelectric power plants, however, new amendments to   the law will not have retroactive effect and will not apply to  licenses already granted. 

 Earlier, ArmInfo reported that a working  group had been formed for  the purpose of research on small hydropower  plants. According to the  results of research serious decisions will  be made. Currently, there  are 186 small hydropower plants in Armenia  that produce 19-20% of  the total electricity generated in the  country. The Government of  Armenia is interested in the development  of small hydropower  facilities, but not to the detriment of the environment. Small  hydropower is part of renewable energy, the  development of which is  among the priorities of the country's  government.

To note, in the next 2 years it is planned to build another 32 small  hydropower plants. Meanwhile, their construction will depend on  compliance with the 10 criteria for environmental impact assessment  established by the government of the country. This concerns the  presence of endemic species of aquatic flora and fauna registered in  the Red Book of Armenia, preservation of the actual water flow at a  level not exceeding the ecological release determined by permission  for water use, the presence of sanitary protection zones of aquatic  ecosystems, the presence of nature monuments within a radius of 150  meters and landslides, the presence of roads or the need to build  them in areas of construction of small hydropower plants, the  distance from human settlements, the impact of noise on the  environment and human health. It also provides for the suspension of  licenses of hydropower plants in case of 40% or more congestion of  rivers by diversion pipes.

As earlier the country's well-known specialist in water resources,  Ph.D. Knarik Hovhannisyan stated in an interview with the ArmInfo  correspondent,  despite the fact that hydroelectric power plants are  ecologically most safe among other alternative sources of  electricity, in recent years, due to the extremely extensive  construction of small hydropower plants in Armenia on the republic's  waterways, the ecological condition of aquatic ecosystems has  deteriorated sharply. This is due to the violation of the regime of  environmental flows, which impede the conservation of biodiversity  (flora and fauna) of aquatic ecosystems. Among other factors that  violate the normal activities of natural ecosystems, the expert  considers the frequent excess of the established limits for water  withdrawal, violation of the standards for the construction and  operation of hydraulic structures.