Georgia launches tender for 5 MW solar park

JSC Georgian Energy Development Fund (GEDF), which is owned by the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, has launched a tender for the construction of a 5 MW solar power plant in the Sagarejo municipality of the Kakheti region of the country.

The project has an estimated investment of around $3.45 million and 10% of the sum will be provided by GEDF. The solar park is planned to generate 7,100,000 kWh per year.

GEDF specified it already conducted a feasibility study for the project and that it also prepared all the tender documentation for the selection of an EPC contractor.

Interested investors will have time until August 16 to submit their proposals.

The GEDF issued a tender for “purchasing consulting services” for the project in April 2017.

Georgia has had limited success with solar energy deployment to date. At the end of 2020, the country had only 1 MW of installed solar power. The country, however, currently hosts a 500 MW solar module factory owned and operated by US-based Aionrise that exports panels to the United States and Europe.

Around 78% of Georgia’s power comes from 2.4 GW of hydropower generation capacity, with the balance from 900 MW of thermal power plants. Electricity rates in the country are already low: reported to be in the neighborhood of two US-cents per kilowatt-hour.

*The article was amended on August 4 to specify that the 500 MW module factory is owned by US-based Aionrise and not AE Solar, as we previously reported.