Bank lending to Georgia’s energy sector reached a record GEL 3.18 billion in July 2026, up by GEL 731 million from a year earlier.
That represents annual growth of 30%. The sector now accounts for around 7% of total business lending in Georgia.
The increase comes as financing expands across small hydropower, wind and solar projects. Sector representatives say the lending growth increasingly reflects projects moving beyond feasibility studies and into active development and construction.
Energy lending grows faster than overall business credit
The energy sector’s loan portfolio grew by 30% year-on-year, significantly faster than overall business lending, which increased by around 12%.
With GEL 3.18 billion in outstanding loans, energy has become the fifth-largest sector in Georgia’s business credit portfolio and has moved ahead of tourism.
Aleksandre Ergeshidze, Head of the Specialized Risks Department at the National Bank of Georgia, said lending growth is visible in both small hydropower and wind power projects.
He also pointed to the sector’s relatively strong credit performance and growth potential.
Overdue loans remain unusually low
Despite the rapid increase in financing, overdue loans remain very limited.
As of July 2026, only around GEL 0.8 million of the GEL 3.18 billion energy-sector portfolio was overdue. That represents approximately 0.03% of total energy-sector lending.
The figure is significantly below the overdue-loan level seen across business lending more broadly and supports the National Bank’s assessment that the energy sector currently combines strong growth with relatively low credit losses.
More projects are moving into active development
Deputy Economy Minister Vakhtang Tsintsadze said the lending growth reflects real energy projects that are already in active development.
He pointed to hydropower, solar and wind projects as examples of investments now moving forward in Georgia. Lending to the sector is also around 40% higher than in the comparable period of 2024.
Galt & Taggart sector head Mariam Chakhvashvili offered a similar interpretation. She said the increase in bank financing suggests that more projects are moving beyond memorandums and research stages and into construction.
According to Chakhvashvili, this could translate into new generation capacity entering operation over the next two to three years.
Investor interest remains high, GREDA says
Maia Melikidze, Executive Director of the Georgian Renewable Energy Development Association, said investor interest remains strong because of Georgia’s hydro, solar and wind potential.
She expects both domestic and international investment in the sector to continue increasing over the coming years.
The latest lending figures provide one indication that this interest is already translating into financing activity.
For Georgia’s renewable-energy market, the combination of record credit growth, low overdue loans and a growing pipeline of projects moving into construction suggests that bank financing is becoming an increasingly important part of the sector’s expansion.
Source note: National Bank of Georgia data as reported by BM.GE and Business Insider Georgia; comments from Aleksandre Ergeshidze, Vakhtang Tsintsadze, Mariam Chakhvashvili and Maia Melikidze.