ArmInfo. The introduction of new small hydro power plants in operation will negatively affect the water resources of Armenia. On March 22, at a press conference in Yerevan, an environmentalist, a specialist in water resources, Ph.D. Knarik Hovhannisyan.
She stated that in reality HPPs are the most environmentally friendly safety sources of energy, since only thermal pollution. However, according to the ecologist, violation of the istallation rules and exploitation leads to disastrous consequences, down to exhaustion water resources.
At the same time, Hovhannisyan stated that today the government of Armenia is developing a methodology for operating hydroelectric power stations and expressed hope, that this will allow at least somehow to improve the situation in this area.
As ArmInfo informed earlier, 7 new small hydroelectric power stations with total installed capacity of 21 will be built in Armenia in 2018 MW. As of the end of January this year, 184 small hydropower stations operate in Armenia with a total installed capacity of 354 MW. The regulator granted licenses for the construction of 36 other small hydropower facilities. The share of small hydro power plants in the total electricity produced in Armenia in 2017 increased by 13% compared to 2016.
Nevertheless, in October last year the Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of the Republic of Armenia Ashot Manukyan reported that about a third of small hydropower plants will close within the next five years. "Studies have shown that 99% of small hydropower stations operating in Armenia are built on attracted financial resources, at one time the international structures provided relatively cheap credit resources and Armenian entrepreneurs built more than half of small HPPs based on the equipment already used," Manukyan said. In addition, according to the minister, in a terrible state there are pipes at the hydroelectric power station, which are outdated, and their quality today leaves much to be desired, as a result of which the volume of water abstraction exceeds by 30% the volume of water actually delivered to the turbines. "In fact, the problem today is not so much ecological as economic, and if we do not take the appropriate steps, then in the next 5 years about a third of small hydropower plants will be shut down only because equipment, although only used for 5-10 years, is morally obsolete and unsuitable for functioning, "Manukyan noted. Recall that at present in Armenia the process of introduction of new technical regulations for small hydro power plants continues, which will make it possible to improve the conditions of their operation and ensure sustainable development.