Ministry of Nature Protection discussed issues of effective use of  water resources

ArmInfo. Roman Melikyan, executive director of the NGO "Association of Renewable Energy Sources in Armenia", presented the results of his research in the activities of  small hydropower stations and efficient use of water resources in the Ministry of Nature Protection.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Water protection,  during the meeting the parties discussed issues related to the law in  the sphere of management of water resources, gaps in the sphere of  regulating water use. 

According to the opinion of the experts, the introduction of new  small hydropower plants in operation will negatively affect the water  resources of Armenia. So an ecologist, a specialist in water  resources, Ph.D.  Knarik Hovhannisyan believes that in reality HPPs  are the most environmentally safe energy sources, since only thermal  pollution occurs. However, according to the ecologist, violation of  the rules for the installation and operation of small hydropower  plants leads to harmful consequences, down to the depletion of water  resources. At the same time, Hovhannisyan stated the need to develop  a methodology for operating hydroelectric power stations and  expressed the hope that this would at least somehow improve the  situation in this area.

As ArmInfo reported earlier, in 2018 7 new small hydroelectric power  stations with a total installed capacity of 21 MW will be built in  Armenia. 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.  Studies have shown that 99% of small hydropower  stations operating in Armenia are built on attracted credit  financing. At one time, international structures provided relatively  cheap resources, and Armenian entrepreneurs built more than half of  small hydroelectric power stations on the basis of obsolete and  already used equipment to reduce the cost of the estimate. In  addition, the pipes at the hydroelectric power station are obsolete,  and they are out of date, and their quality today leaves much to be  desired, as a result of which the volume of water abstraction exceeds  by 30% the volume of water actually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. The  main equipment of the HPP, although it is used only for 5-10 years,  is morally obsolete and unusable for functioning. The process of  introduction of new technical regulations for small HPPs, which will  make it possible to improve the conditions of their operation and  ensure sustainable development.