OSCE-supported event explores Armenia’s hydropower potential

The measures Armenia can take to better harness the potential of hydroelectricity were highlighted at an OSCE-supported seminar held on 20 February 2014 in Yerevan.

The seminar surveyed Armenia’s current hydropower potential and the actions that can be taken to generate even more electricity from the country’s water energy resources.

Endre Ottosen, a specialist from the Norwegian consultancy Norsk Energi, shared his experience and findings from an assessment on how to increase the environmental and social sustainability and security of Armenia’s  hydropower sector that is still relatively small. Representatives from the Armenian Ministries of Energy and Nature Protection presented policies for the future and noted the environmental problems linked to the country’s hydro power sector. Perspectives and experience from  Aarhus Centres and a more business-minded approach from the Association of SHPP owners were also shared.

Hydroenergetica, a local private consulting company, provided the analysis of the sector and prospects for further development, as well as recommendations from the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Working Group.

The seminar, organized by the American University of Armenia and Norsk Energi with the support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, brought together high-level representatives from relevant Armenian ministries, diplomatic missions, the business community and civil society.