The discussion: perspectives for the development of the renewable energies in Georgia was held with the initiative of the editorial of the magazine “Information and Society”.

The aim of the discussion is to reveal Georgian scientific-practical abilities to participate in the world process with the idea: “Georgia with clean energetic”.

Tamaz Marsagishvili - Doctor of Physics and Mathematics Sciences. Head of Scientific Council of R.Agladze Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Electrochemistry. Member of Euro sciences and American Chemical Society. Was awarded 12 international grants. Has over 120 published scientific works.

Using hydrogen as a fuel in the nearest future may become a solution for the most acute ecological problem of large cities - pollution of the environment, air pollution in the first place. A source of the cheap electricity is needed for producing hydrogen, cheap enough to be used as a fuel.

Taking into account a huge energy potential for reception of cheap electrical energy in Georgia (hydro, solar, wind, thermal, power resources of the Black Sea etc.) this region may be very perspective for development of hydrogen energy.

The development of electrical energy in Georgia will be based on cheap electricity generated by hydro power plants. At present Georgia is capable of producing tens of thousands tons of hydrogen per year by water electrolysis using excess cheap electricity generated by hydro plants during the night hours. Oxygen will be obtained also during electrolysis process. The best way of utilizing this oxygen is using it for hydrogen production from brown coal. Georgia holds about 30000000 tons of brown coal in its coal mines.

At September 2003 President of Georgia Mr. E.Shevardnadze issued an arrangement #1087 about development of hydrogen energy in Georgia. Unfortunately, this arrangement was not realized.

Karlo Barbakadze - Professor of Sokhumi Ilia Vekua Institute of Physics and Technology. Head of Scientific Council of the Institute. Honored inventor of Georgia.

The ecologically friendly renewable solar beam energy reaches the earth surface with density - 1 KW/m2. It is the basis for life on the earth, an essential part of this energy is naturally transformed into renewable water and wind energy resources. Accumulation of the mentioned energy and its wide application as electric energy and ecologically friendly fuel hydrogen may quite satisfy the increasing demand of the mankind. In Ilia Vekua Sukhumi Institute of Physics and Technology is being elaborated solar thermoelectric generator with power -150 W, efficiency -10% for using as autonomous electric source. In perspective is possible to increase its efficiency up to 20%.

Tamaz Vashakidze, Director of the Center for Innovational Development of Enterprises, Academic Doctor, laureate of the state award. Author of more than 80 scientific and scientific – popular works and 9 inventions, among them 2 are introduced.
Winner of several international scientific technical contests:
CRDF (Civilian research &Development Foundation, USA) – 2005,2006.
ENERGY GLOBE AWARD (Austria) – 2007

Traditional fuel-energetic resource (oil, natural gas etc) which Georgia practically does not have, according to the existed tempos of expenditure and estimation of experts, will be run out in the closest 100 years. Our country has as natural, so human resource, in order to develop complex program of research and trial construction works for the use of alternative sources of energy.

Marina Machavariani, Candidate of Sciences (Physics and Mathematics). Senior Researcher at the R. Agladze Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Electrochemistry. Has published 42 scientific works. Participated in 3 international scientific projects of STCU and in scientific projects of Academy of Science of Georgia.

At the institute was developed project. The aim of the Project is creating the new type photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell for solar-to-hydrogen energy conversion by the PEC method from the aqueous solution with hydrogen accumulation possibility. The Sun is the free source of energy, water is non-expensive reagent and hydrogen is the most energy-rich and ecologically safe fuel. The conventional PEC cell for water photoelectrolysis consists of a semiconductor photoanode and a metal cathode joined together. Non-equilibrium electrons and holes are generated on a semiconductor/electrolyte boundary under illumination of the photoanode by sunlight. As a result, water is decomposed for oxygen and hydrogen.

Gregor Tatishvili, Candidate of Sciences (Physics and Mathematics). Director of R. Agladze Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Electrochemistry. Has more than 25 published scientific works.

At the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Electrochemistry was developed project on obtaining of hydrogen by thermo chemical method with use of solar energy.

Hydrogen production is possible with the help of thermal water decomposition process for which solar energy may be used as the source of heat. Obtaining heat with the help of mirrors and concentrators is much cheaper and more effective than obtaining electrical energy by semi-conductor converters. Thermochemical water decomposition and obtaining hydrogen by such a method as a result may be much more accessible from economic viewpoint.

Oleg Shatberashvili - PhD, the author of more than 90 works in physics in 1976-2004, Director of the Georgian in 1976-2004, Director of the Georgian Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (TECHINFORM); an Expert in Projects of international organizations (UNESCO,UNIDO,FAO,GFAR ect.) in scientific and technological information sphere.

Despite of the fact that introduction of non-traditional power system is very expensive at the first stage, in a long perspective it has sufficiently large economical and ecological effect. I have devoted many works to those questions and I have even suggested my proposals at the time of working in governmental commissions.

I think that the things I am speaking about now should be formed at the level of unified governmental program, to which there will be added the question of technologies for energy saving.

I think that today’s meeting is the basis for formation of professionals’ vision, which will be based on collected for years theoretical and practical experience in Georgia, and also on the newest achievements of the world.

Professor Rafael Chikovani - Doctor of Technical Sciences, Head of Microelectronic direction, Head of  Microelectronic Teaching-Scientific Center, Laureate of State Prize, president of Georgian Society of History of Science. Deputy Director-General of International Biographical Center (IBC, Cambridge, England).

Development of nontraditional energy in Georgia has rather good perspectives. This is conditioned not only by results of application of these energies in Georgia, but by availability of scientific technical potential and qualified staff in the country.

Among the nontraditional types of energy, I consider that one of the priorities is transformation of energy into electric one. All over the World this direction is one of the strategic and has the highest rate of production growth.

For Georgia, the prospect of this kind of energy is being determined by the following main factors:

• number of sunny days (more than 250 days) annually;
• existence of scientific-technical potential and highly-qualified staff;
• availability of semiconductor materials in Georgia;
• advantage of application of solar energy in regions of difficult access in Georgia;
• wide area of realization of produced photo-transformers in  the world (unexhausted market).

Quite perspective (especially for invalids)   seems organization of production of technical silicon for solar photo-transformers. Today in the world there is a great deficit of technical silicon and I think that production is profitable, all the more that in Georgia there is available high quality quartzite, labor-force and specialists.

I think that it is necessary to prepare a complex program of alternative energy development in Georgia and submit it to the government, in which it is determined participation of business and investors.

Nikoloz Chikhradze - Associate Professor of Georgian Technical University; Director of G. Tsulukidze Mining Institute; Manager of three ongoing projects connected with usage of removable energy sources; Member of American Society of Minerals, Metals and Materials.

I am fully agreed with participant’s opinion. The Georgia has high potential for development of non-conventional and removable energetic.  The discussions about the application above mentioned potential are permanent, but without any results yet. Even, such important sources like sun and wind energy are unusable. The implementation of the huge energy potential needs government support and financial guarantee. Accordingly for obtaining the government support and financial sources, it is necessary the creation of completed investment programs, taking into account the economical, ecological and political aspects. More one such project may be developed within the state targeted programs. Very important issue is the extension the format of discussions on the problem and publicity in Georgian population.