Tata Power completes financial closure of 187MW Adjaristsqali hydro project in Georgia

Tata Power, Clean Energy Invest AS Norway and IFC InfraVentures have completed financial closure for the 187 MW Adjaristsqali hydro project in Georgia.

The project is being financed by IFC, ADB and EBRD. This landmark project will help Georgia to tap its hydropower potential. IFC, along with ADB and EBRD, has arranged the largest-ever private hydropower investment in Georgia of US$400 million through project financing.

Adjaristsqali Georgia is a joint venture between India's Tata Power and Norway's Clean Energy Invest (40 percent each), and IFC (20 percent), this project will help Georgia achieve energy self-sufficiency. The three lenders are providing a total of $250 million of long term project financing for the hydropower plant.

The project is the first hydropower project in Georgia certified by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change for carbon emission reductions. It is expected to produce about 450 gigawatt hours of power annually and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 200,000 tons per year. The project will develop the 187-megawatt Shuakhevi hydropower scheme, consisting of the Shuakhevi and Skhalta hydropower plants located in the Adjara region, in southwest Georgia. Work on the Shuakhevi plant began in September 2013 with a target to start producing electricity in 2016.

Speaking on the development, Anil Sardana, CEO and managing director, Tata Power, stated:

"We would like to thank the Government of Georgia for their support in exploring Georgia's huge hydropower potential. According to our founder Jamsetji Tata's vision that 'clean, cheap and abundant power is one of the basic ingredients for the economic progress of a city, state or a country. We are expanding our footprints globally and to achieve that we are scouting newer clean and green power projects in different geographies, in addition to investing in implementation of eco-friendly technologies to continuously reduce our carbon footprint and join the global initiatives to combat climate change. We are grateful to our strategic partners, Clean Energy and IFC InfraVentures, for putting us on a strong footing for this project and also thankful to all our partners who are helping us realise our global dream to come to life. We are confident that the global potential will be realised with our exemplary clean governance and speed of action."

This project is in line with Tata Power's commitment to develop 450MW of new Hydro Power Project this year as part of its centenary year celebrations theme of "Invisible Goodness." The Shuakhevi plant aims to satisfy Georgia's electricity demand during winter, reducing dependence on imported fuel and increasing renewable energy output. It will also foster cross-border electricity trading at other times of the year by exporting electricity to Turkey through a transmission line financed by EBRD.