ENERGY SECURITY OF GEORGIA AS A COMPILER OF GEO-ECONOMICS (HYDROPOWER CONTEXT)

The inevitable decline in the reserves of traditional energy sources is fostering interest in the development of renewable energy technologies around the world. The territorial characteristics and abundance of water resources in Georgia have great potential for the development of small hydropower, although the reality indicates a lack of high practical interest in this field. Comparative analysis of the characteristics of Georgian and foreign energy systems indicates the existence of a number of problems in the small hydropower industry in Georgia, which is related to the strategic understanding of the development prospects of this field at the state level. This situation naturally leads to an increase in investment risks. The aim of the article is to determine the conditions that will make the construction of small hydropower plants attractive and facilitate the formation of a relevant market through a geoeconomic understanding of the issue. The object of research is the opportunities and tools to improve Georgia's energy security, taking into account the geoeconomic factor of the state. The subject of the research is to discuss some of the current problems related to Georgia's energy security in the geo-economic context, in the context of hydropower. Institutional analysis, synthesis and comparison methods are used in the processing of the article.