According to the Bakhvi 1 HPP project, the retention of so-called environmental flow in the amount of at least 290 liters/second will be guaranteed from the headworks to the lower reaches. In addition, during the high-water level period (May-June), an additional 2000-5000 liters/second water will be added to the river environmental flow. It should be mentioned that the Bakhvitskali river is distinguished by the abundance of tributaries. There are 32 tributaries from the headworks to the HPP building, creating an average multi-year flow of up to 330 liters/second of water in the riverbed. The total annual runoff of the river near the headworks is 77.2 mln. cubic meters. The amount of environmental expenditure is 22.1 million cubic meters, which is 29% of the annual runoff. Considering the annual runoff (10.5 million cubic meters) in the diversion section, the amount of water left in the river reaches 42% in total. Environmental flow for the Bakhvi 1 HPP project is calculated by a method similar to the one used for operations of the Bakhvi 3 HPP. The amount of the environmental flow of the Bakhvi 3 HPP is sufficient for preserving the biodiversity in the Bakhvitskali river, which has been proved by the monitoring of existing biodiversity undertaken by the independent third party (AquaGe) twice a year. The annual summary report is publicly available on the project website: http://www.silkroadenergy.ge/web/environmental-monitoring/

There are ten deficit months in Georgia (in particular from July through April). During this period, the project output of the Bakhvi 1 HPP accounts for 68% of the annual one, which amounts to 34 GWh. It is important for the country to take advantage of existing potential and at the expense of better utilization of hydro resources eliminate the generation deficit as well as significantly reduce the dependence on the import of energy carriers.

It is too early to determine the sale price of the electricity generated by Bakhvi 1 HPP. However, we can discuss the average weighted tariff, which is 4-4.5 US cents per kWh.

C-C-E-H HYDRO VI LLC has allocated approximately 61 million GEL investments for the Bakhvi 1 HPP project.

In case of implementation of the Bakhvi 1 HPP project, during 25 years, the C-C-E-H HYDRO VI LLC will pay, on average, property taxes in the amount of 10 million GEL to the local budget at the operating stage and an additional 10.5 million GEL as a corporate tax. The money will be distributed between the local budgets of Chokhatauri and Ozurgeti municipalities. The local government will use this amount for population needs, infrastructure projects, and healthcare. Please note that CCEH is obliged to ensure timely budget tax payments, but under the applicable legislation, it cannot assume the responsibility for the targeted allocation of this money.

1) Based on its goodwill, CCEH is ready to consider additional small-scale social projects designed to improve the living conditions of the local population, considering the needs of the local population, and the capabilities of the project budget.

2) In the construction phase and considering the construction parameters, it is planned to employ qualified local staff.

3) The company is working on the relevant legislative initiative to ensure in the long run the allocation of some part of the property tax to financing the directly affected villages.

4) The benefits the residents will gain by the commissioning of the Bakhvi 1 HPP, should also be noted. The HPP will become a guarantor of an extremely reliable and uninterrupted power supply to the region's population. For example, in case of an outage of power supplied to the region from the electrical grid (due to external factors of the distribution network), the HPP located in the region will ensure the uninterrupted physical supply of electricity.

5) Besides the capacity to ensure continuous power supply, the operation of Bakhvi 1 HPP will significantly improve the quality of power supply to the region, which is often a concern due to uneven loads and disproportionate supply causing voltage and frequency drops;

6) It should also be noted that uninterrupted and quality power supply, in turn, will create additional opportunities for the connection of new consumption facilities in the region and/or development of production;

7) Under the Bakhvi 1 HPP project, C-C-E-H HYDRO VI LLC plans to improve the 18-kilometer section of roads located within the construction perimeter and build the new 2.5-kilometer road.

C-C-E-H HYDRO VI LLC operates in line with the Georgian legislation and regulations and follows the IFC and EIB Environmental and Social Management Standards. CCEH has established an independent environmental and social management system that ensures compliance with the rules set by the system, which implies not only the conduct of relevant studies under the local legislation but also the invitation of highly qualified international and local experts for carrying out the specific studies. Factually, for CCEH, these standards are guidelines indicating the types of studies and mitigation measures to be implemented to minimize the impact on the environment and people. Caring about the protected species is of utmost importance to us. Protected species include Georgian Red Listed species and the species protected by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).

The international consultancy company SLR has conducted a biodiversity assessment for the Bakhvi 1 HPP project. SLR developed an assessment report and the biodiversity action plan for Bakhvi 1 HPP.

Mr. Pierre Biedermann, an international expert in environmental and social aspects with 25 years of experience and the founder of the French Consulting Company Alpage, is CCEH's external expert. Mr. Biedermann has extensive knowledge of internationally recognized approaches and methodologies for the elaboration of such studies and was involved in the preparation of a cumulative report and a climate change risk assessment study for the Bakhvi 1 HPP.

Gamma Consulting, LLC is currently preparing the scope and EIA reports required under Georgian law.

The feasibility study of the Bakhvi 1 HPP was conducted by Afri, an international European consulting company. Founded in 1895, the company is a worldwide leader in the areas of engineering, design, and consulting services. Afri brings together 16,000 experts of infrastructure, industry, energy, and digital fields from 40 countries around the world. www.afry.com/en

According to the study and considering the scale of the Bakhvi 1 HPP project, it will not have any impact on the Bakhmaro Resort climate. 

In terms of noise propagation during the construction, even in case of simultaneous operation of all existing machinery, the level of generated noise will not exceed the levels defined by the Technical Regulations approved by the Resolution N398 of the Government of Georgia on Acoustic Noise Norms within the Premises and Territories of Residential Buildings and Community/Public Institutions of August 15, 2017. In addition, the vegetation growing in these areas will reduce noise propagation levels by at least 15-20 dB. Therefore, the noise levels at the Chadrekili settlement and resort zone boundaries will not exceed 25 dB and 16 dB, respectively. (The norms are 45 dB and 40 dB for daytime and nighttime, respectively). Given that the works will be carried out only in the daytime, there is practically no risk of the negative impact of noise propagation.

As for pollution of the ambient air during the construction, the present study demonstrates that no deterioration of air quality will take place. Inconvenience caused by the traffic is also minimized as the project envisages the arrangement of access roads from both lower and upper reaches, and the main construction materials will be transported by the road coming from the lower reaches. It should also be noted that the planned access road of headworks coming from the upper reaches will not pass through the Bakhmaro Resort zone, which minimizes the likelihood of impact on visitors and the population. Construction works will be planned to minimize the risks of impacting the traffic flows of the Bakhmaro Resort access road.

By the decision of our management, all the components of the project Bakhvi 1 HPP infrastructure that fell within the recreational zone (in particular the small section of the water collection area and construction camp territory) will be relocated beyond the boundaries of the recreational zone.

When discussing projects like the Bakhvi 1 HPP implemented within Georgia, it is relevant to mention the diversion type the Bzhuzha HPP has is 2.8 kilometers from the Gomismta. Like the Bakhvi 1 HPP, its installed capacity is 12 MW. The Bzhuzha HPP has been in operation since 1956 and to date, there is no evidence of its impact on the resort's climatic conditions.

Within the framework of the Bakhvi 1 HPP project, the Caucasus Clean Energy Holding (CCEH) has a status of an investor and a developer. For the Bakhvi 1 HPP project development and implementation, the holding company CCEH established C-C-E-H HYDRO VI LLC on January 20, 2020.

The Bakhvi 1 HPP is a small hydro-power plant construction project in the permitting  stage planned for the Bakhvitskali river. This is a diversion-type HPP with an installed capacity of 10.9 MW and an annual output of 43.1 GWh. The above output accounts for 60% of the annual consumption of Ozurgeti municipality and its villages. As for Chokhatauri municipality and its villages, the annual output of the Bakhvi 1 HPP is 2.5 times higher than their annual consumption. The designed project covers the territories of Chokhatauri and Ozurgeti municipalities. The elevation difference between the Bakhmaro Resort and the HPP headworks is 140 - 200 meters, which eliminates any danger of potential flooding of the resort.

The Bakhvi 1 HPP project area is 20 km (direct distance) and 25 km (direct distance) from Chokhatauri and Ozurgeti. The distances from the Bakhmaro Resort center (Bazrisubani) to the HPP headworks and the HPP building are 3.5 km and is 6.7 km, respectively. Ukanava village is 8 kilometers away from the HPP building.

The decentralized and regional development of generation facilities is a prerequisite for the successful development of the country since it increases access to quality power supply, thus empowering the local municipalities. Given the established practices, the electric power generated by the Bakhvi 1 HPP is supplied to the central grid. However, in technical terms, the HPP construction will enable the local grid to become a guarantor of more reliable and uninterrupted electric power supply to the region, ensuring continuity of physical supply of electricity in the event of a sudden power outage in the central system. In addition, this will significantly improve the quality of electricity supply to the region which is often a concern due to uneven regional load and disproportionate supply causing voltage and frequency drops. It should also be noted that uninterrupted and quality electricity supply, in turn, will create additional opportunities for connecting the new consumption facilities and/or development of production in the region.