Georgia’s Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze has officially launched the Net Metering Regulation in Georgia, a new net metering scheme expected to expand the use of solar and renewable energy in the country.

According to local government-owned press agency Agenda, Kaladze said that the net metering network is first of all a demonstration of mutual beneficial communication between the state and its citizens, and that, on the other hand it is “a modern, European style of life, thinking and earning income.”

The regulation for net metering was approved by the country’s Parliament in early 2016. According to the US National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), which supported the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission’s (GNERC) in setting transparent rules for net metering on behalf of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the scheme is open to wind, solar, biomass, and hydropower generation installations with a capacity of up to 100 kW.

The country, which has seen very limited development of solar and other renewable energies so far, is also preparing to host its first solar park, a 5 MW PV facility which will be located in the Sagarejo municipality, Kakheti region. State-owned company JSC Georgian Energy Development Fund (GEDF) issued a tender for “Purchasing consulting services” for the project in April.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is currently considering providing with a loan the project’s developer and GEDF’s unit Georgian Solar Company LLC. The project’s cost is estimated at around $6 million. Once completed, EBRD said in a statement issued in February, the Udabno Solar Power Plant will become the first solar park in Georgia.

The country’s largest PV installation is currently a solar power generator installed at theTbilisi International Airport. The project was developed thanks to a $4.8 million grant from the Japanese Government offered for the project in 2010.