On 17 of May, 2017, a seminar on small hydropower plant development in Bosnia and Herzegovina took place in Sarajevo. The seminar was organized by Rusatom International Network.
In the first part of the seminar Timofey Dolguikh, head of a department at Atomenergomash (a company of Rosatom) told about technical features and key advantages of container-installed small hydropower plants.
The speaker noted that small HPPs manufactured by Ganz EEM (Hungary), a subsidiary of Atomenergomash, is a simple, fast and cost-efficient solution for connecting remote areas rich in hydro energy with no centralized power supply due to geographical, technical and financial reasons.
T. Dolguikh emphasized that the plant may be operated both as an independent power source and as an alternative to inefficient and environmentally unfriendly power sources. This solution requires no dam construction and makes no damage to river and other reservoir ecology. All the equipment including a turbine, mechanical and electrical parts, etc., are installed in a container. The container solution makes it possible to considerably reduce the commissioning terms, as well as construction and transportation costs.
The main advantages of the small hydropower plant include the low electricity cost, short lead time, easy and fast assemblage. After transportation to the site and water connection, power generation could be started within a month. Though space saving, the plant has all necessary systems required for its operation and control.
Another advantage of the container-installed small HPP is the possibility of remote control by means of a smartphone or Internet. So, with the help of the monitoring system, the owner can follow the operation of the facility by means of a computer, tablet or even a mobile phone, and receive information on the amount of the generated electricity.
Dmitry Konstantinov, Head of Investment at Rusatom International Network, told about possible business models for container-installed small HPP projects.
"What Rosatom offers to the customer is not just a unique product unparalleled on the market, but also investment solutions including involvement of Russian and foreign financial institutions," — pointed out the speaker.
International Investment Bank is interested in becoming a financial partner. Balazs Vertes, a representative of the Bank, told about possible conditions of the Bank’s participation in small HPP projects.
The second part of the seminar was devoted to the potential of small HPP project development in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including issues of regulation, economy and ecology. Among the parties of the dialogue were representatives of various field-specific ministries and authorities, energy companies and regulatory bodies of the country.