The legal base of biomass energy projects
Biomass energy projects in Georgia fall within the general framework of the law on energy. The law establishes the common legal framework for generation, transmission, distribution, supply and trade in the electricity sector, and for transmission, distribution, supply, storage and trade in the natural gas sector, with the purpose of creating well-functioning, transparent and competitive markets. For biomass, the norm of the first article of the law is particularly significant: the norms established for natural gas, including liquefied natural gas, extend also to biogas and gas obtained from biomass, or gas of another type, where its safe injection into and transportation through the natural gas system is technically possible. This means that a biogas project is not in a legal vacuum — it operates under the same rules as the gas sector in general.
Biomass in the renewable energy definitions
Article 3 of the law defines renewable energy sources as renewable non-fossil energy sources and names among them wind, solar, geothermal energy, waves, sea tides, hydropower, biomass, gas obtained from waste processing, sewage treatment plant gas and biogas. A production facility built on biomass thus enjoys the status of a renewable source, which is the precondition for access to the encouragement and support mechanisms provided by law.
The same article also defines the micro-capacity power plant: a generation object held in the ownership or use of a final consumer or a group of final consumers, which uses renewable energy sources and is connected to the distribution network. The installed capacity of such an object must not exceed 100 kilowatts, although the commission may set a higher ceiling — which in any case must not exceed 500 kilowatts. For small biomass projects this definition is decisive, since it determines the simplified regime. The law also separately defines the small-capacity power plant — a plant whose design capacity does not exceed 15 megawatts; this definition matters for classifying comparatively large biomass facilities.
Terminological precision is also the foundation for planning a biomass project: the law defines authorization as the licensing and certification of an activity together with the granting of other powers established by legislation, while capacity in the electricity sector is expressed in megawatts and in the natural gas sector is determined as the maximum flow per unit of time under the contract concluded with the corresponding operator. Using these notions exactly when drawing up applications, contracts and reports preempts groundless rejection and the risk of dispute.