On Wednesday August 31, U.S. Ambassador John Bass will join Alexandre Khetaguri, the Minister of Energy of Georgia, to celebrate the opening of the Shenako micro hydropower plant in the village of Shenako, Tusheti. The hydropower facility will provide clean, renewable energy to 60 families in the village, as well as to nearby border guard stations.

The U.S. Government provided technical assistance and over $87,000 in funding to the project over three years through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and its implementing partner, Winrock International.

The electricity generated by the hydropower plant will encourage new economic opportunities, including development of the tourism industry in the remote and mountainous region. The plant can generate enough power to support Shenako and neighboring villages. Shenako has not had reliable access to electricity since 1988, when a transmission line was damaged.

The project was completed with significant contributions of time and labor from the community of Shenako and with the cooperation of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Georgia, which recently completed the transmission line to the village. Through this project and others, the U.S. Government is working to provide clean energy alternatives that create new economic opportunities and improve the quality of life for the people of Georgia.