Gardabani power station
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Gardabani power station is a proposed 300-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Kvemo Kartli, Georgia.
There is also a 300 MW gas plant operating at Gardabani, and a new 250-300 MW gas and 100 MW hydro project planned there.[1]
Contents
Location
The map below shows the approximate location of the project, in the town of Gardabani.
Background on Plant
In 2012 the Georgian Industrial Group (GIG) said it had signed a contract with the Turkish company Mimsam to construct a 160 MW coal power station in Gardabani, near the border to Azerbaijan. The power station will be fed with domestically produced coal from a mine in Tkibuli in the west of the country,[2] also owned by GIG.
In 2015, Chinese state-owned Dongfang Electric Corporation pledged $180-$200 million for construction of a 150 MW coal plant in Tkibuli, in Georgia’s western Imreti region. The offer was made at a meeting between Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Dongfang representatives, shortly prior to the World Economic Forum in China.[3] Later that year an agreement was signed between the Georgian Government and Tkibuli-150 for the construction of a 150-300 MW coal-fired power plant in Tkibuli municipality. Under the agreement, construction should start no later than 30 September 2016 and be finished before 1 January 2020.[4]
In 2016 an amendment was made for the construction of one thermal coal plant, in Gardabani instead of Tkibuli.[4] GIG said the "alternative location was decided after the company considered the findings of geological and environmental studies." The coal plant is planned to be 300 MW.[1]
According to a 2016 Green Alternative and Bankwatch report, the project has not received environmental clearance, and has been opposed by locals over pollution concerns, as gas plants are already operating and planned in the town.[4]
In March 2017 it was reported that GIG plans for construction on the 300 MW coal plant in Gardabani to begin by the fall,[5] the rationale being a dependence on imported gas due to lack of hydropower in the winter and that the company would otherwise have to close its coal mines.[6]
In November 2017 Dongfang Electric Corporation and Georgian Industrial Group's CPower signed a US$250 million contract for construction on the 300 MW coal plant to begin in 2018 and commissioning in 2020.[7]
According to the Open Society Georgia Foundation, in 2017 the government issued a permit for the Gardabani Coal Plant to be operational by 2024. However, the government did not notify the project sponsor that the plant should employ best available technologies, as required by law.[8]
As of November 2019 there have been no further developments, and plans appear shelved.
Project Details
- Sponsor: Georgian International Electric Corporation
- Parent company: Chemexim International
- Location: Gardabani, Kvemo Kartli, Georgia
- Coordinates: 41.45, 45.1 (approximate)
- Status: Shelved
- Gross Capacity: 300 MW
- Type: Subcritical
- Projected in service: 2024
- Coal Type:
- Coal Source: Tkibuli, Georgia
- Source of financing: China Silk Road Fund[9]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Projects in Pipeline," GIG, accessed May 2017
- ↑ "Georgia to build new coal power station," DF Watch, Feb 17, 2012
- ↑ "Dongfang Electric Invests $200m in Georgia’s Tkibuli Thermal Power Plant," Caucasus Business Week, September 10, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Gardabani coal-fired thermal power plant and associated problems," Green Alternative and Bankwatch report, 2016
- ↑ "C-Power is Preparing for Construction of Thermal Power Plant," cbw.ge, Mar 22, 2017
- ↑ "GIG BUILDING 300 MEGAWATT COAL-RUN THERMAL POWER STATION," Tabula, May 27, 2017
- ↑ "Agreement was signed between Cpower and Dongfang Electric Corporation," Dongfang press release, Nov 29, 2017
- ↑ "Ambient Air Pollution in Georgia - Challenges of European Integration," Open Society Georgia Foundation, June 2018
- ↑ "Georgian coal town longs for Chinese rescue," EurasiaNet, Nov 13, 2018
