Gov’t approves first auction of renewable energy projects with 27 winning companies
27 companies have been declared winners in projects for renewable energy infrastructure, creating opportunities for over $2 billion in investment in Georgia’s energy sector. Photo: PM's press office
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Twenty-seven companies have been declared winners in projects for renewable energy infrastructure, creating opportunities for over $2 billion in investment in Georgia’s energy sector, the Government Administration announced on Monday.
Of the projects, 10 involve building solar power plants, two are for wind farms and 15 for hydropower plants, the Administration said, adding agreements on their technical and economic studies phase would be signed with the companies in the “nearest future”.
The Administration said a total of 78 applications had been submitted in the auction that had been announced by the Ministry of Economy. It said investors showed “extremely high interest” in the call, with applications for over 900 megawatts of installed capacity submitted for the auction that had called for 300MW in the first phase.
The Government approved the results of the first auction in a meeting of its members earlier today, with Minister Levan Davitashvili telling local press the Government also planned to auction additional capacity in the summer “to give private developers firm price guarantees to raise finances and implement energy projects”.
Davitashvili also mentioned the project for the 350-430 MW Gardabani Thermal Power Plant 3, earmarked for the country’s south, and said that the investor would be revealed after the price survey procedure. Davitashvili said the investor would be expected to build the "largest thermal power plant” in the country and put it into operation within four years from the signing of the contract.
Georgian Deputy Economy Minister Romeo Mikautadze on Tuesday said ensuring utilisation of renewable energy was “important” for establishing a “sustainable, safe and independent” energy sector in the country.
Romeo Mikautadze, the Deputy Economy Minister of Georgia, discussed procedures of auctions for the state scheme for renewable energy support in a meeting that involved investors, companies and business associations of the sector, the Ministry of Economy said on Thursday.
Georgia has proven to be a “valuable participant” of the Southern Gas Corridor, a route delivering gas from Azerbaijan to Europe, and plays a “key role” in energy resources reaching European markets, Romeo Mikautadze, the Deputy Economy Minister, said on Friday.
Romeo Mikautadze, the Georgian First Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, on Thursday said his office had signed 60 deals with investors worth $800 million last year that were expected to add more than two billion kWh to the local energy generation annually.
Romeo Mikautadze, the Deputy Economy Minister of Georgia, on Sunday said the ongoing year was seeing “record figures” in generation and exports of electricity, in an address to employees of the sector on their professional day.
The Georgian Government will “gradually” sign the contracts with the companies that were declared winners of the first auction in projects for renewable energy infrastructure in July, the Economy Ministry said on Friday.
A Government meeting chaired by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday discussed the first auction of electricity production capacity initiated by the Ministry of Economy.