Over 85 percent of Georgian electricity is produced by hydroelectric plants.  The rest of the electricity is produced by thermal power plants (EIA, 2005).  Georgia imports almost 100 percent of the fuel for the thermal power plants (mainly natural gas) from Russia. 

Unexplained blasts damaged pipelines carrying natural gas from Russia to Georgia in the winter of 2006.  Georgia was without gas for days in extremely low temperatures.  In response to this situation, Georgia indicated its commitment to ending its near total dependence on Russian energy imports (BBC, 2006).

A table with summary information for Georgia is displayed below.

Georgia Country Summary Table

The installed capacity of Georgian electricity production facilities is about 4.4 GW; however, due to aging equipment in need of rehabilitation and a shortage of fuel supplies, these plants only operate at about 40 percent of capacity.

Power outages have been, and continue to be, a persistent problem for Georgia.  Outages have been a daily occurrence in most of the country and have impaired the development of businesses and the economy.  This problem has been due, in part, to the inefficient and aging transmission and distribution systems, it is estimated that 40 percent of the power generated is lost during transmission and distribution.  Further on January 2, 2002 an accident on a transmission line bringing power from Russia and Armenia brought transmission to a halt altogether. 

Some efforts have been made to move towards the privatization of the energy sector; however, progress has been slow.  Georgia made its first attempt at privatization with the T’bilisi distribution network in 1998.  However, the low collection rates made the venture unprofitable.  In January 2002 the government made renewed commitment to improve the troubled electric sector.  In an IMF meeting in January, the government of Georgia agreed to work towards establishing a wholesale market, speed up efforts towards privatization, and draw up clear plans for repayment of internal and external energy debts.  However, in August 2009 the Georgian Prime Minister Gilauri fired his economic development minister for not encouraging investment or privatization in energy, agriculture or health industry (Bedwell, 2009).

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Georgia currently has no special legislative acts to regulate the use of renewable energy sources.  The Tax Code enacted in 2005 does not provide any tax benefits for the production and use, import and putting equipment into operation for the production of renewable energy or power saving equipment (USAID, 2008).  The existing law on electricity and gas does not include renewable energy sources explicitly. Goals for renewables have been developed, however. 

Georgia ratified the UN climate change agreements in 1994, established a National Climate Protection Program in 1996, and acceded to the Kyoto Protocol in 1999. Consequently the conditions for participating in measures within the framework of the Clean Development Mechanism are in place. Initial proposals for CDM projects in the wind sector are already on hand.

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Currently there is no operative wind energy capacity in Georgia, except for some small units (of about 6 kW each).  A country wide wind-atlas is available, where 4 main areas with annual average wind speeds of over 6 m/s at 30 m height, 2 areas with 5 - 6 m/s were identified.

The ‘Masterplan of Wind Power Development of the USSR till 2010’ (1989) estimated the technical potential of wind power in Georgia to be 83 TWh a year.  At 25 percent or greater capacity factor, this could result in over 2,300 MW of installed capacity.

The technical wind energy resource potential estimated in the study mentioned above is probably accurate.  Under these circumstances the technical wind energy resource potential of Georgia is good.

The most promising sites in Georgia are the high mountain zone of the Great Caucasus, The Kura river valley, The South-Georgian (Djavakhet) highland and the Southern part of the Black Sea coast.

The following figure is a map displaying Georgia’s wind potential.  The greatest potential is in the central region of the country, with wind speeds reaching approximately 9 m/s at an 80 m height.

Georgia Wind Resource Map (Source: 3Tier)

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Georgia has considerable biomass resources potential. It is conditioned by its geographical position and climate favorable for growing forests and agricultural development. In some regions it is possible to have two yields per year.  The use of biomass is considered an important source of power supply, especially in rural areas.

In 2000 the Georgian non-governmental organization Bioenergy devised a national program for developing biomass use in rural areas and quantified the biomass potential at over 600 MWth.  Approximately 40 percent of Georgia’s territory is wooded.  Firewood is very widely used, especially in rural regions.  As a result of the collapse of the gas and district heating networks in the cities, the demand for firewood has soared there too. 

In 2007 a biogas pilot project was installed on a family farm in Naoza, Georgia.  The plant converts livestock waste and other organic matter into methane gas.  The methane gas can be used to cook, heat, and produce dairy products.  In addition to the methane gas, the conversion process also produces high-quality fertilizer.  This pilot project has been used to raise awareness of bio-digesters in Georgia (USAID, 2008).

Georgia Biomass Resource Data

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Georgia has considerable potential for exploiting solar energy. Direct and global radiation reaches daily values of 4.5 to 7 kWh/m² at the most promising locations, corresponding to annual values of 830 kWh/m² to 1,670 kWh/m².  However, the use of solar energy in Georgia is currently very low. 

The solar energy resource potential is characterized by the data presented in tables below for two points, Tbilisi, the capital, and Sukhumi.

Monthly and annual total solar radiation incident on horizontal surface, MJ/m²

Monthly and annual direct solar radiation incident on surface normal to sunlight beams, MJ/m²

The data presented in tables is typical for most of the Georgian territory. However, the solar energy resource potential in Southwest part of Republic, in Adzharia near Batumi is much less. The complicated mountainous terrain also affects the value of solar energy resource potential. At the same time, it is possible to allocate any zone with higher solar energy resource potential in comparison with the data in tables.

The figures below display the direct normal and global horizontal irradiation values for Georgia.  The most eastern region of the country has the best solar resource.

Direct Normal Irradiation Values

 Global Horizontal Irradiation Values

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Georgia’s geothermal energy resources have been well researched and already developed to a considerable extent for thermal use. There are approximately 206 wells and 8 hot-water springs in the country.   Confirmed geothermal water total reserves are greater than 100,000 m³ per day.

In Georgia there are considerable resources of medium and low temperature thermal water (33 – 108 ^оC).  At present geothermal energy in Georgia is not used for generating power.  The total thermal power of currently active geothermal power supply systems constitutes 250 MWt (6,307 TJ/y).   Geothermal waters are used in Georgia for district heating, greenhouse heating, fish pond heating, agricultural drying, industrial applications, and bathing and swimming.

The special feature of thermal water in Georgia consists of low salt content (1-3 g/l), allowing for the absence of scaling in wells, pipelines and equipment.  Up to the present the fountain method of maintenance without reinjection was used exclusively. This method resulted at some fields in the reduction of seam pressure and discharge of the wells.

It has been noted that the only method for considerable increase of geothermal resources is a transfer to the progressive method of fields’ maintenance with full reinjection of waste water.

Over 80 percent of main geothermal fields are located in Western Georgia (reservoir formations are fractured karstic limestones of Upper Cretaceous in the sedimentary trough).  Geothermal fields are also located in the Southeast (volcanics/sandstones of Paleocene-Middle Eocene in the folded systems).  The following table lists the deposit name, the number of wells and/or springs, the water temperature and the discharge of thermal water deposits in Georgia.

Thermal Water Deposits of Georgia Table

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The vast majority of Georgia’s power supply is from hydroelectric generation. The available generation is usually far less than the full capacity due to widespread plant outages.

The hydroelectric power station capacity of 2,843 MW is shared between 20 large-scale plants and about 30 small generating plants of less than 10 MW each (UDI, 2009). The largest power plant is the Enguri power station with an installed capacity of 1,300 MW.  The plant generates 4.2 billion kWh of electricity annually, which is 45 percent of Georgia’s entire electric generation.

By absolute indices of potential hydro resources Georgia is fourth among CIS countries (after Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan), but by concentration of potential hydro resources, Georgia is one of the top territories in the world.   

The hydro resources are concentrated in Western Georgia and the hydropower potential of the Inguri and Rioni rivers have been mostly developed.  Hydroelectric generation will continue to play a major role in Georgia’s energy plans for the foreseeable future, primarily because of favorable hydrological conditions.  The Ministry of Fuel and Energy is currently continuing rehabilitation of power plants and is also seeking creditors and investments for new construction. Efforts are being made to create appropriate opportunities for foreign investors.

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