Solar power system opens at Tbilisi International Airport

In 2014 Tbilisi International Airport provided services to more than 1.5 million passengers. Photo by G. Maisuradze
Agenda.ge, 30 Jul 2016 - 11:56, Tbilisi,Georgia

A new solar energy generation system will officially begin operating at Tbilisi International Airport today.

The system will be able to generate 40 percent of electricity the airport consumes.

Georgia’s Economy Minister, Japan’s Ambassador to Georgia and other officials will attend the opening ceremony later today.

Construction of the solar energy generation system was possible thanks to a $4.8 million grant from the Japanese Government offered for the project in 2010.

The project envisioned solar energy systems to be installed at Georgia’s central airport and at one of the country’s public tertiary institutions Ilia State University.

The solar energy generation system at Tbilisi International Airport can generate 337,000 kWh electricity a year, which covers 40 percent of the facility’s total consumption.

Ilia State University’s solar energy generation system can generate 30,000 kWh electricity a year, which is enough to cover 15 percent of the building’s total use.

With this system carbon dioxide emissions at Tbilisi International Airport and Ilia State University are expected to decrease by 187 tonnes a year and 16.6 tonnes a year respectively, which amounts to about 569,000 m2 of forest.

In total, as of today the Japanese Government has offered $410 million in aid for Georgia.