Policy Briefs
Introducing Wind Generation as a Way to Reduce the Seasonal Volatility in Electricity Generation in Georgia
Monday,
30
December,
2013
Monday,
30
December,
2013
Due to the geomorphological characteristics of its territory and its geographical location, the Republic of Georgia is rich in hydro resources. According to the Georgian Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, so far Georgia has exploited only about 20% of its hydro resource potential. Since 2006 the Georgian government has been planning to utilize these resources to not only meet domestic demand, substituting hydro fully for electricity imports and thermal power plant (TPP) generation (burning imported gas), but also to turn Georgia into a regional provider of electricity.
Initially, thanks to the rehabilitation of existing hydropower plants (HPPs) and to improvements in the regulatory environment of the Georgian electricity sector realized in the wake of the Rose Revolution, this program seemed relatively easy to achieve. The generation of cheap hydropower did increase and partially substituted for thermal energy generation and electricity imports. After a steady increase from 2007, finally, in 2010, the total annual hydropower generation (9 375 GWh) in Georgia exceeded the country’s total electricity consumption (8 441 GWh). Parallel to this the construction of new transmission lines started to increase the export capacity to Turkey and a number of Memoranda of Understanding were signed with investors in relation to the realization of 40 new HPP projects.
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Georgia’s biodiversity: urgency of effective policies
14
December
2023
Biodiversity, as defined by the Convention of Biological Diversity (CDB), refers to “the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems” (CDB). Generally, it refers to the diversity of ecosystems and the variety of life on Earth.
Green growth strategy: how is the renewable energy sector in Georgia progressing, and what else is still required?
03
April
2023
The increasing proportion of renewable energy in the world’s overall energy supply indicates the growing popularity of renewable energy globally. From 2010 to 2021, this percentage rose from 3.2% to 5.2%, while modern bioenergy increased from 5.7% to 6.7%.
Air quality in Georgia: need for urgent policy solutions
01
February
2023
Pollution is an existential threat to modern society, one which endangers both human and planetary health. It includes contaminating the air with ozone, sulfur, nitrogen-containing nitrous oxides, and delicate particulate matter (PM2.5). Reduction of air pollution is a key aspect of Green Growth, which, together with attaining the goals of the Paris Agreement, could save around a million lives a year worldwide by 2050 (Rijsberman, 2019).
Improving Business Access to Electricity in Georgia
29
February
2016
Georgia is consistently performing very well in the World Bank’s “Doing Business” (DB) ranking 24th country globally in 2016: DB ranking is made up of several different indicators. Georgia only ranked 62nd for getting electricity (GE). GE indicator is a proxy for electricity supply quality to the business.
