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.
Encouragement of renewable energy and cogeneration
Under Article 37 of the law, the promotion of electricity generation is regulated transparently and non-discriminatorily, taking into account economic expediency, the minimal costs of the final consumer, and the criteria of influence on the electricity balance and on the operation of the system. Electricity generation from renewable energy sources and high-efficiency cogeneration may be encouraged through mechanisms defined by legislative acts or normative acts of the government, in order to reach the level established for Georgia by the legislation of the Energy Community. For a biomass project this means that the forms and conditions of support must be read precisely from this framework, and not from a separate special act — the law itself establishes no separate special regime for biomass.
Supply security measures and biomass
Article 134 of the law instructs the ministry, in cooperation with the commission and other competent state authorities, to adopt supply security measures. Among these measures the encouragement of electricity obtained from renewable energy sources and from the combined production of electricity and heat is named directly, as is the encouragement of energy efficiency and new technologies, including demand management, renewable energy and smart metering technologies, and distributed generation. At the same time, every such measure must be non-discriminatory, must not restrict competition on the market and price-related signals more than necessary, and must not impose an unjustified burden on market participants.
What a project planner should know
When planning a biomass project, the first question runs along the gas or the electricity line: for biogas, the technical possibility of safe injection into the system is decisive, which the law names directly; for electricity, the capacity of the object and its classification. The second question concerns support mechanisms: the law does not detail their substance but states that they are defined by legislative and government acts, so the economic model of the project must be built on the current versions of those acts. The third question is the relationship with the network — connection, access and sale on the market proceed under the general rules of the law.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below we answer the questions most frequently asked about biomass energy projects.
How is biomass defined by the law?
Biomass is named as a renewable non-fossil source together with wind, solar, geothermal energy and hydropower; the list also includes biogas and gas obtained from waste processing. A biomass project thus enjoys renewable source status.
Do the gas norms extend to biogas?
Yes. The norms established for natural gas extend to biogas and gas obtained from biomass, where safe injection into and transportation through the system is technically possible.
What is the micro-capacity plant threshold?
The installed capacity of such an object does not exceed 100 kilowatts; the commission may raise the threshold, but it must in no case exceed 500 kilowatts.
Is there a separate regime for biomass in this law?
No — biomass projects are regulated by the general framework of this law, while support mechanisms are defined by legislative and government acts.
How We Help on Legal.ge
Our team assists in the legal classification of a project, in assessing the possibility of injection into the gas system, in calculating access to support mechanisms, and in network connection procedures. Every recommendation rests on the exact text of the above-mentioned articles of the law on energy.