BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 17. The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is working to solve the problems of optimal development of electricity generation in the Central Asian region, Managing Director, Head of the Directorate of Sustainability at EDB Conrad Albrecht said at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), Trend reports on November 17 via the EDB.
According to Albrecht, the EDB investment portfolio also includes renewable energy projects which are at different stages of implementation.
However, as he noted, the development of an HPP (hydropower plant) project is usually a difficult task – such projects tend to carry the greatest risks. The building of reservoirs sometimes means the relocation of entire communities, the flooding of large areas of land, and significant changes in river ecosystems.
“For these reasons, the planning and implementation of an HPP project must be comprehensive and well-coordinated from inception to commissioning. Following the ‘Environmental and Social Policy’ of the EDB, each project under development undergoes a mandatory assessment for environmental and social risks,” the bank’s representative explained.
“The HPP projects in our portfolio were assigned the ‘A’ (highest risk) category, meaning that they have been assessed in terms of environmental impact," Albrecht stressed.