"Azerbaijan intends to export 5 gigawatts of clean electricity to Europe annually," said the chief of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Energy Ashraf Shikhaliev at the event “Tripling of renewable energy sources by 2030: the basis for the rapid development of renewable energy in Central Asia“, organized within the framework of COP29.
According to him, Uzbekistan plans to export 5 gigawatts of electricity, and Kazakhstan - 5-7 gigawatts: “This strategic approach is considered an important step towards turning Central Asia and Azerbaijan into key players in the global energy transition.“
Shikhaliev believes that for the achievement of ambitious goals in the field of renewable energy, megaprojects that attract the attention of investors are important.
„In contrast to low-income projects, investors prefer large and reliable projects in this direction, such as the installation of wind power plants in the Caspian Sea and the transmission of the energy produced in them. stations to Romania and Hungary via submarine cable across the Black Sea. Thus, clean energy will be delivered directly from wind farms on the Caspian Sea to European countries, he said.
These projects are aimed at an energy connection between Europe and Central Asia: “This year will begin the development of the technical and economic basis of the project to connect the electrical systems of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, the project's energy will be supplied from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan through an underwater cable through the Caspian Sea, and from there to Europe, in addition, Azerbaijan has another energy corridor to Europe through Turkey.
He added that these projects will bring the renewable energy potential of both Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries to the world market.