ARMENIA RECEIVES GRANTS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT

RenewableEnergyAccess.com, NH
April 5 2006

Orangeville, Ontario [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Grants and credits
totaling US$50 million will assist the Armenian government to increase
privately owned and operated power generation using renewable energy
and to reduce greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide) emissions by overcoming
barriers to the development of renewable energy.

The Renewable Energy Project will provide assistance to remove the
existing barriers and debt financing, as well as technical, legal,
managerial and business support to a selected number of renewable
projects. The World Bank approved a Renewable Energy Project for
Armenia totaling US$25 million, including a US$5 million International
Development Association (IDA) credit, and a US$3 million grant from the
Global Environment Facility (GEF). The project will also be supported
by co-financing of US$7 million from EBRD, US$3 million from the
Cafesjian Family Foundation, and US$7 million from the government
and local financial institutions.

Armenia has achieved remarkable results in reforming the power sector
and improving its financial performance in this energy crisis. The
remaining challenge for the sector is to ensure sustainable
and reliable power supply by shifting reliance from costly and
polluting sources of energy to lower cost and environmentally
friendly alternatives; and increasing the energy diversification
for a higher degree of energy security through indigenous renewable
energy resources.

While the overall legal and regulatory framework in Armenia is
supportive to the development of renewable resources, private
investments in renewable projects are impeded by a number of legal,
regulatory, informational, financial and institutional barriers. The
Renewable Energy Project will provide assistance to remove the existing
barriers and debt financing, as well as technical, legal, managerial
and business support to a selected number of renewable projects.

By the time of completion, the project is expected to contribute to the
development of about 80 MW of additional renewable energy generation
capacity, adding 200 gigawatt hour (GWh) annual renewable generation to
the electricity generation mix. In addition, carbon dioxide emissions
are expected to be lowered by around 130,000 tons annually.

The Credit will be made to Armenia on standard IDA terms, including
40 years maturity and a 10-year grace period. Since joining the
World Bank in 1992 and IDA in 1993, the commitments to Armenia total
approximately US$921 million for 42 operations, stated the release.