Georgia holds potential for renewable energy development because of its abundant solar, wind and hydro resources. However, as Levan Kokaia writes in his new report for BMG, Strategic Legal Advisor in Renewable Energy and lawyer at the Georgian Renewable Energy Development Association (GREDA), the country’s outdated and fragmented permitting system remains a major challenge, slowing down investment and project implementation.
Kokaia’s assessment emphasizes how complex legal requirements, institutional fragmentation and lack of digital tools create excessive delays and uncertainty at every stage, from early feasibility studies to land access, construction permits and grid connection.
One important obstacle is the absence of legal provisions allowing developers to access land for preliminary feasibility research without formal rights, leading to blocked early-stage assessments. Kokaia points to Portugal’s model where temporary exploration rights granted through centralized auctions enable developers to evaluate sites before purchase.
Furthermore, Georgia’s overlapping jurisdiction over protected zones and strategic territories forces developers to navigate multiple agencies independently, resulting in bureaucratic complexity and gaps in approvals. Kokaia mentions Denmark and the Netherlands where integrated GIS-based spatial planning systems and automated inter-agency coordination have helped these processes.
Another significant challenge is inconsistent construction permitting, largely managed by local municipalities with uneven expertise and policy alignment. Drawing on Germany’s example, Kokaia recommends establishing a coordination mechanism that balances local input with national energy priorities and avoids delays and contrasting decisions.
Central to Kokaia’s recommendations is the creation of a national-level One-Stop-Shop (OSS) for renewable energy permitting. This digital and institutional platform would unify application submission, coordinate among agencies, enforce deadlines and provide developers with transparency, similar to successful EU models. Integration of grid connection procedures within this OSS is also critical as the current process in Georgia is fragmented.
To increase transparency and reduce risks, Kokaia proposes developing a centralized geoportal containing land use, zoning, protected areas and grid capacity data, enabling developers to pre-assess project viability before investing.
Kokaia emphasizes the need to align municipal and central government permitting roles through national guidelines, training and OSS oversight to ensure consistency and compliance with goals.
Kokaia also suggests launching streamlined permitting zones in regions with high renewable potential to demonstrate efficiency and build political support for nationwide adoption.
By addressing these bureaucratic and institutional challenges through pragmatic policy and legal reforms inspired by EU best practices, Georgia can unlock its renewable energy resources and attract sustainable investment.
