Feasibility of Construction of a Nuclear Power Plant in Georgia

Georgia is experiencing a shortage of the energy resources. Proper functioning of its energy sector is only possible if the energy resources are imported. The experience of the recent years shows that reliance on the monopolist natural gas supplier cannot guarantee either uninterrupted electricity supply or stability of the supplied natural gas prices. At the same time, the volume of imported natural gas will soon become inadequate to meet the country’s growing demand for energy resources. Accordingly, the main objective of the official policy for the energy sector is to maximize the efficient use of the available energy resources and diversify the sources of imported energy resources. In July 2007, the Georgian government introduced proposed a new initiative to the international community as a solution to this problem: Georgia is interested in building the third generation nuclear power plant on its territory.

On 13 July 2007, at a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the Georgian president broached his government’s decision to build a nuclear plant for civilian use in Georgia. After the meeting, President Sarkozy said that France was ready to study the economic and environmental implications of the project, which was an indication that France agreed to appraise the project of building a nuclear power station in Georgia. President Saakashvili’s meeting on 14 July with the CEO of the leading French energy company, Areva, to discuss the prospects of building the power station, also attests to this.

Georgian diplomats say that consultations between experts have already started to further finetune and improve the project. At the 16 August 2007 government meeting, it was decided to create a commission for the nuclear power station project comprised of cabinet members, independent experts and subordinate it to the Ministry of Fuel and Energy.