ESB International has won a two year contract to advise the Government of Karelia on the development of its energy resources. Worth about £1.6 million the contract involves the development of hydropower potential in Karelia, a member state of the Russian Federation.
Some 25 Irish workers will be involved in the rehabilitation of existing hydropower stations in Karelia and the development of new peat resources.
Funded through an EU programme, the project is EBS International's first contract in this region. Karelia is in the northwest of the Russian Federation and shares a border with Finland.
The state wants to develop its energy sector to meet the needs of its population of 800,000 and to generate hard currency through exporting surplus energy stocks to Scandanavia. ESB International is an independent subsidiary of the ESB.
It employs 600 people and generated revenue of £66 million last year. The company is currently involved in contracts in 35 countries providing engineering contracting and consulting services.
It is involved in two other contracts in Russia: running an energy centre in Ekatarinaburg and operating a technical training programme in Toola. Other current contracts involve advising on the future of the electricity sector in Kurdistan, advising on the development of the Ministry of Finance in Latvia and installing customer systems in the Czech Republic.
ESB International's latest contract was won against competition from eleven other international consulting engineering groups.
