The Georgian government has authorized the removal of 2,370 Red List chestnut trees in the forests of Khashuri, Surami, and Tsedani as part of the Rikoti Wind Farm project.
A government decree states that, within the framework of the ‘Rikoti Wind Power Plant’ construction project in Khashuri Municipality, Anadolu Holding subsidiary Taba LLC has been granted the right to remove protected plant species from state forests managed by the National Forestry Agency for the construction and operation of a 110 kV power transmission line.
The permit includes the removal of 370 common chestnut trees (Castanea sativa Mill.) and 2,000 chestnut trees with a taxon diameter of less than 8 cm.
The company is required to notify the Department of Environmental Supervision in advance about the planned removal dates of the Red List species.
“The cut timber resources, in an uncut form, shall be stored in the territory specified by the National Forestry Agency and transferred with an acceptance and delivery act, in accordance with the legislation,” the decree states.
The Rikoti Wind Power Plant is being developed by Turkish company Anadolu Holding. According to documentation submitted by the company, the project’s planned installed capacity has increased from 24 megawatts to 25 megawatts.
The project envisages the installation of four wind turbines equipped with Goldwind GWH171 model generators, each with an installed capacity of 6.25 megawatts.
