OREANDA-NEWS. July 15, 2011. Enel OGK-5 and the Government of the Sverdlovsk Region reached an Agreement on cooperation in the environmental protection domain. The document was signed by the General Director of Enel OGK-5 Enrico Viale and the Governor of Sverdlovsk Region, Aleksandr Misharin, during the International Ural Forum of Industry and Innovations - "Innoprom-2011". 

Improving the environmental performance of its power plants is one of the cornerstones of Enel OGK-5’s business. The company is one of the largest investors in the Sverdlovsk region, Enel OGK-5’s plants generate nearly 60% of the total electricity produced by the local energy system. Joining efforts between business and government in the field of environmental protection is crucial to substantially improve the ecology of the Middle Urals – one of the most important industrial regions of Russia. 

The agreement envisages collaboration in the sphere of environmental protection and implementation of medium-term and long-term environmental program of Enel OGK-5’s Reftinskaya GRES. This power plant, situated in the city of Asbest, Sverdlovsk region, is the largest coal-fired plant in Russia with installed capacity of 3.8 GW. The  mid-term (up to 2013) and long-term (up to 2020) environmental programs of Reftinskaya GRES include a number of  activities aimed, among other things, at continuous monitoring and reduction of atmospheric and water emissions, as well as reconstruction of the ash and sludge removal system, with implementation of the modern environmental friendly system for collecting, transporting and storing of the ash,  also allowing significant increase of the use of ash for industrial needs.

The implementation of the environmental program will help reducing the emissions from Reftinskaya GRES in the atmosphere by 33.1% to 2020 compared with 2010.

Commenting on the agreement, Enel OGK-5 CEO Enrico Viale said: "This agreement marks the further strengthening of our cooperation with the Sverdlovsk Region Government in the environmental protection field. The implementation of this agreement reinforces Enel OGK 5’s commitment to the highest environmental standards for all its power plants".

"This agreement is a new milestone in the long-term cooperation of the Sverdlovsk region and OJSC “Enel OGK-5”, built on the basis of reliable public-private partnership and social responsibility, - Aleksandr Misharin marked. - It is important that this step will not only increase energy security in the region and production efficiency, but also will help improve the environment."