Georgia to invest in multiple renewable energy projects

The government of Georgia has given green signal to several projects for the development of renewable energy. The key decisions were taken during the official session of the Georgian Government Administration.

The government has officially announced that the country will invest $200 million in wind, hydropower, and solar projects to take renewable energy to greater heights. The government said that this is necessary for the energy independence of the country.

Georgia’s Deputy Economy Minister, Romeo Mikautadze, has informed that the locations for the renewable projects have already been chosen in the Gori, Ksani and Aspindza regions.

Mikautadze stated, “This is a step toward energy independence, which will reduce our dependence on neighboring countries.” Recently the government of Georgia had disclosed its intentions to expand renewables in the country when it said that Georgia needs to attract more investments in the energy sector. It had also hinted that the country will need to construct more hydropower projects.

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili had stated, “The electricity consumption in Georgia is growing, while generation is significantly lagging behind consumption, which is a great danger for the country, for energy security and energy independence in general.”

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the energy generation in Georgia is able to cover about one fifth of its energy demand (21.4% in 2019). Country’s most energy comes from hydroelectric power projects and biofuels. In 2019, natural gas was the first fuel in the energy mix (45.4%), followed by oil (27%), renewables (20.4%) and coal (4.7%).

Nearly 75% of Georgia’s electricity generation comes from hydro production (75.3% in 2019), with the remainder produced from natural gas and from a 20.7 MW wind power plant (84.7 GWh in 2019).

IEA says that the share of renewable sources in Georgia’s electricity mix is among the highest in the world. In 2020, the renewable share was about three-fourth of the total energy produced in the country.