The Georgian government has suspended the review of about 1,746 MW of proposed energy projects — including hydro, solar, and wind — after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze issued a decree on October 13, 2025. The freeze comes as many of the submitted projects lacked finalized memorandums with investors, prompting authorities to press pause on further evaluation.
Davit Narmania, Chair of the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNERC), said the moratorium is not a rejection of all projects, but a confidence-building measure. The government will now assess proposals based on three stringent criteria: (1) technical integration with Georgia’s national electricity grid; (2) a fully developed project plan; and (3) credible financial guarantees from investors. “These criteria help identify projects that are realistically implementable … over time, only projects with genuine viability will move forward,” Narmania said.
Tornike Bakhturidze, Executive Director of Infinite Energy, welcomed the decision. Many of the projects put on hold, he argued, were little more than speculative or “paper” plans — lacking feasibility studies or even grid‑connection rights. “This is a recovery process … future projects will be selected more rigorously, receive maximum support … and their development accelerated as much as possible,” Bakhturidze said, predicting that more cancellations are on the way as Georgia filters out unviable proposals.
Even while the review is on hold, Georgia continues to make concrete strides in building its clean energy infrastructure. In October 2025, five small solar power plants — developed by Alazani Solar and Kakheti Solar — with a combined capacity of 10 MW, were connected to the national grid. These plants, located in Kakheti’s Dedoplistskaro, Sighnaghi, and Akhmeta municipalities, were carefully sited to balance solar potential with minimal disruption to agricultural land, according to Nino Mchedlishvili, the director of both companies. Meanwhile, the government is backing $195 million in wind projects that will deliver 125 MW of capacity once completed.
Economic data shows that Georgia’s energy sector has remained a strong draw for foreign direct investment (FDI), even during wider capital outflows.
FDI in Georgia’s energy sector reached USD 126 million in the first half of 2025 — a 34.7% increase from the same period in 2024.
In Q1 2025 alone, energy accounted for USD 70.2 million or 39.1% of all FDI in Georgia.
While total FDI fell in Q2 2025 to USD 580.1 million (a 12% year-over-year drop), the energy sector maintained a respectable share, drawing USD 54.4 million in that quarter.
Over the course of 2024, Geostat data shows that the energy sector made up 9.5% of total FDI — one of the top sectors, though still trailing behind financial, manufacturing, and real estate investments.
On the investor side, the Czech Republic emerged as the dominant player in energy-related FDI in early 2025, contributing roughly 60.1% of the total USD 126 million — that is, some USD 75.7 million. The Netherlands (USD 9.2 million) and Türkiye (USD 3.1 million) were also notable contributors.
Georgia’s strong renewable potential — thanks to abundant solar, wind, and hydro resources — is well recognized. But, as Levan Kokaia, a lawyer at the Georgian Renewable Energy Development Association (GREDA) and Strategic Legal Advisor in Renewable Energy, argued in his August 2025 report for BMG, structural weaknesses in the permitting system pose a serious drag on investment.
Kokaia warns that Georgia’s legal and institutional setup remains outdated and fragmented. Developers face multiple challenges: no legal mechanism to conduct preliminary feasibility research on land without formal long-term rights, overlapping agency jurisdictions (especially in protected or strategic zones), and the absence of digital systems that could streamline inter-agency coordination. He draws comparisons to Portugal — where temporary exploration rights are auctioned centrally — and to countries like Denmark and the Netherlands — which use GIS-based spatial planning and automated coordination between agencies to reduce friction.
Kokaia also highlights that construction permits are inconsistent because local municipalities manage them and often lack the capacity or policy alignment with national energy goals. He recommends creating a national-level One-Stop-Shop (OSS) for renewable-energy permitting. This platform would digitize and coordinate everything from application submission to inter-agency approvals, enforce strict deadlines, and integrate grid-connection procedures — addressing a major weakness in Georgia’s current setup.
Another of his key proposals is the establishment of a centralized geoportal, offering data on land use, zoning, protected areas, and grid capacity. That would give developers much-needed transparency early in project planning, helping them evaluate site viability before a large financial commitment.
Kokaia also suggests piloting “streamlined permitting zones” in regions with high renewable potential — acting as testing grounds for more efficient regulation, building political momentum, and creating proof points for a broader rollout.
Prime Minister Kobakhidze has framed the 2025 suspension of project reviews not as a setback, but as a strategic reset. He stressed the importance of moving away from opaque “direct contracting” mechanisms and toward a system that supports serious, financially backed developers. The government’s goal: to prioritize energy projects that are not only ambitious, but also viable, transparent, and bankable.
Kokaia’s legal road map fits cleanly into that vision, advocating for reform that can help Georgia fully unlock its renewable energy potential. If these changes take root, the country could attract even more high‑quality investment — accelerating its transition to clean energy, while ensuring long-term stability and sustainability in its power sector.
By Team GT
