With plenty of mountain rivers and streams, small hydro development is very promising for Kyrgyzstan. At the seminar, Rosatom presented innovative small hydro solutions offered by its subsidiaries and discussed investment opportunities and financing mechanisms for small hydro projects. Another theme of the seminar was government support for renewable energy projects in the Kyrgyz Republic. Some vendors of small hydro equipment and technology presented project finance packages from European banks, supranational funds and international financial institutions.
“Apart from being a global leader in nuclear power, Rosatom as a diversified corporation is engaged in other energy sectors, including hydro, thermal and wind power generation. We successfully develop all the types of green energy,” Vitaly Dragunov, Head of Rosatom Central Asia, said at the seminar. “We are intensifying our efforts in Central Asia, particularly in Kyrgyzstan, and believe that they will open up broad prospects for peaceful uses of nuclear energy, including renewable sources of power, nuclear medicine and other promising areas of application.”
Electricity is needed to develop remote, yet economically attractive country regions. Expanding the power grid into such regions is a costly, long-term endeavor. A fast, simple and cost-efficient solution is offered by Ganz EEM, a Hungarian subsidiary of Rosatom’s engineering division. The company has developed a containerized hydro power plant with a capacity ranging from 0.5 MW to 2 MW, which is sufficient to satisfy power demand in regions with no centralized power supply. The plant is a perfect alternative to cost-inefficient and non-eco-friendly diesel generators. The only requirement for the location of the small hydro power plant is a water stream that suffices to rotate the turbine and engage the generator to produce power. The containerized design reduces lead-in times and costs of construction severalfold.
“Ganz EEM celebrated its 170th anniversary last year and has always been known for innovations. Our goal is a steady, consistent development in response to new market needs. The seminar is organized to understand what power supply problems exist in Kyrgyzstan. I believe that cooperation with the country in small hydro can be very effective since it has many mountain rivers, sufficient water resources and a great need in electricity. No less important is that Rosatom offers, along with Ganz EEM plants, different options to finance their purchase and commissioning,” said the company’s representative Orto Janus.
Key advantages of small hydro power plants are low generation costs, an insignificant amount of earthworks, and fast and easy installation. After the container is delivered to the site and water is channeled onto the turbine, power generation can start within a month. Although compact, the hydro power plant has all the monitoring and control devices for its proper operation. The battery, which is a part of the plant, provides enough power to energize control systems and transmit satellite signals to the control center if the turbine stops. If there is no connection to the grid, the diesel generator supplies power required to start the system.
Another advantage of the containerized small hydro power plant is that it can be controlled remotely via (mobile) phone or Internet. Therefore, the owner can monitor and control the plant with a PC, tablet or cell phone, and receive information about the power output.
Shumkarbek Adylbek, deputy director of the national investment agency, said, “The Kyrgyz business community was presented with information about advanced small hydro technologies, which are cost-efficient and to the greatest extent practicable. In addition, Rosatom is prepared to finance the purchase and installation of the proposed small hydro solutions. I think this will arouse interest among the business community. In our turn, the Agency is committed to assisting domestic and international investors if they decide to build small hydro power plants based on the technologies and financing solutions offered by the Russian corporation.”
