OREANDA-NEWS. November 26, 2009. The EBRD-EIB Multilateral Carbon Credit Fund (MCCF) and Enguri hydropower plant (HPP), the largest hydropower plant in Georgia, are collaborating to promote clean power generation, reported the press-centre of EBRD.

Engurhesi Ltd, the state-owned owner and operator of the Enguri plant, and Stichting Carbon Purchase Intermediary (CPI), a special purpose vehicle created to acquire carbon credits for the participants in the MCCF, have signed an emission reduction purchase agreement (ERPA) for the sale and purchase of Certified Emission Reductions to be generated by the rehabilitated electricity generation units of the Enguri HPP under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
Since the original commissioning of the Enguri HPP in 1980, the plant experienced serious difficulties in operation. Until recently four of its five generating units have been functioning at relatively low efficiency and under a regime of frequent emergency shut-downs, while the fifth unit was inactive since early 90s.

The EBRD has provided close to US49 million to finance the rehabilitation of the Enguri power plant, which enabled the plant to bring the fifth unit back into operation and to increase the capacity of two other units 230 MW to 260MW.

As the Enguri HPP is responsible for 40 per cent of Georgia’s electricity generation, the Enguri CDM project will enhance the energy independence of the country, while contributing to its efforts to combat climate change.

This ERPA is the first of its kind to be executed under the MCCF in Georgia and was negotiated by ICF Consulting Ltd., acting as Carbon Manager for MCCF in the Western Balkan, Caucasus and central Asia regions, and ICF’s legal adviser Hogan & Hartson LLP.

The MCCF, launched in December 2006 and sponsored by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), is one of the few carbon funds dedicated specifically to countries from central Europe to central Asia.

The EIB is the European Union’s long-term lending bank, promoting European objectives. Established in 1958, it operates within the 27 EU Member States and in more than 130 countries outside the EU. One of the EIB’s priority objectives is the protection and improvement of the environment, which accounted for almost EUR 18bn of the EIB’s total lending activity in 2008. For further information visit: www.eib.org

ICF Consulting Ltd., a subsidiary of ICF International (NASDAQ:ICFI) is a global professional services firm that partners with government and commercial clients to deliver consulting services and technology solutions in the fields of climate change, energy and power markets, and the environment. ICF Consulting Ltd. is Carbon Manager in MCCF’s South-East Zone, which covers Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia Herzegovina, FYR Macedonia, Georgia, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Visit ICF at www.icfi.com.