Georgia generates a staggering 85% of its electricity through hydropower plants; however, while further exploitation of Georgia’s hydropower potential sounds promising on paper, local activists and researchers say that a lack of feasibility and safety research before the construction of hydropower plants could pose significant risks.

This week on the Caucasus Digest, Hannah O’Sullivan, an energy researcher, talks about the present and future role of hydropower in Georgia. Salome Shubladze of the Social Justice Centre explains the implications of the plants’ construction for people’s rights, and Kakha Asatiani of the Saving Rioni Valley movement provides an insight into the campaigns opposing the HPPs.

Read more:

• Georgia’s ‘zombie’ hydropower projects

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