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WERNER CASAGRANDE for BNR: THE WORK ON THE GORNA ARDA CASCADE PROJECT CONTINUES WITH PREPARATORY ACTIVITIES

The work on the Gorna Arda cascade project continues with preparatory activities that must be done before one sees the final result and the company has not lost optimism that it would bring the project to a successful end, Werner Casagrande, Chairman of the Management Board of HEC Gorna Arda, said in an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio. These activities include interaction with various Bulgarian authorities (e.g. Ministry of Environment and Water, Ministry of Regional Development) in order to establish the legal terms related to the project’s implementation.

The project does not have an environmental impact assessment (EIA) yet, as it is advisable to do it when the final technical design is available. The initial project had been planned in the 1970s-80s but the situation in Bulgaria since then has changed significantly (society, political system, electricity market, new environmental standards for HPP design). Investing in a new HPP today includes taking into account a variety of factors and this is a complex process, Casagrande added and emphasized that the project made years ago was a solid base for the current work. Now it was being checked which part could be implemented in reality, which parts could be changed or abandoned but nothing had been definitively fixed. The Swiss company Stucky was hired to develop a conceptual design, to check the applicability of the project, made by HEC Gorna Arda. The next step is to develop this conceptual cascade design, taking into account the result of the EIA, the normative base for detailed site development plan and all other requirements. Whether the project would be executed in its full scale depends on the research being made. The implementation is difficult because of the Bulgarian and European environmental standards, while the overall economic situation and that in the Bulgarian energy sector do not facilitate the process either.

As commonly known, NEK has great experience in the construction of hydro power plants and it would be foolish not to take advantage of their expertise in this project, Werner Casagrande noted. EVN is currently ready to finance entirely the project’s development stage with own funds so at first NEK will not have to participate in the project with funds.

The total project cost is not clear at this time, as it depends on the research, the specific project parameters, the economic situation, etc. The amounts mentioned at the conclusion of the shareholders’ agreement, have always been mentioned as maximal - calculated based on the assumption that the old project would be constructed with three very large dams. Our task now is to find out if this actually makes sense, Casagrande added. In his words, the delay in the project was no wasted time, because the longer one prepares for something, the shorter it will take one to do it. We should not save on this preparatory phase, as later on it might turn out that this would lead to 10 times higher costs. Given the fact that the construction of the Dolna Arda cascade had taken 10 years, it is clear that the implementation of such projects takes a long time.

In conclusion, Werner Casagrande expressed confidence that the Gorna Arda project can be realized successfully. It is of great significance to the company that it was declared a project of national importance, as this will make the administrative procedures easier and shorter. This status does not relieve the project company from its obligations, arising from the legislation and does not give any financial support on the government’s part, but its availability is essential. The implementation of the Gorna Arda project could really become a win-win situation. According to Casagrande, the Gorna Arda cascade project has a big chance to be realized, which will contribute to increasing the share of green energy in Bulgaria. Of course, EVN would also benefit from it. Last but not least, this would give impetus to the region too.