Europe is betting on Azerbaijan: the Green Corridor is reaching a new level

The other day, Bulgarian Energy Minister Cho Stankov and EU Commissioner for Energy Dan Jorgensen met to discuss the implementation of key infrastructure projects. This included, and even primarily, the Black Sea Energy project. This ambitious project involves laying a high-voltage electric cable under the Black Sea to transport green energy from Azerbaijan to Europe via Georgia and Romania.

The Bulgarian Energy Ministry said in a statement that the parties discussed the Green Energy Corridor initiative, based on the strategic partnership in the field of green energy between the governments of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary. The ministry stressed that this project is of strategic importance for strengthening regional and national energy security, and Bulgaria can play an important role in it.

Despite certain changes in the geopolitical situation, the topic of energy security and green energy remains relevant for Europe.

The European Union notes that the Black Sea Energy project is a flagship project within the framework of the EU Global Gateway strategy, which opens up opportunities for EU financing as part of an international cooperation instrument. At the end of 2024, the initiators of the project submitted an application for inclusion in the list of "projects of mutual interest" for the EU's cross-border energy infrastructure (TEN-E Regulation). Obtaining this status entitles projects to EU financial support within the framework of the Connecting Europe Facility. The European Commission plans to allocate 2.3 billion for the project. euro. Relevant consultations are currently ongoing.

Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary signed a strategic partnership agreement in Bucharest on December 17, 2022 for the construction of the 1,195 km long Black Sea Energy underwater electric cable. In May 2024, the energy operators of Azerbaijan, Romania, Georgia and Hungary signed a memorandum on the establishment of a joint venture within the framework of the implementation of Black Sea Energy. In September, the electricity distribution companies of the four countries signed an agreement in Bucharest to establish a joint production facility, which will be part of the project. In June 2023, Bulgaria announced its intention to join the project. Serbia and Moldova have also expressed interest in participating. It is expected that the Black Sea Energy cable will allow exporting about 4 GW of green energy per year to Europe. The development of the feasibility study is at the completion stage.

It should be noted that initially the plans were made between the EU and Georgia, Azerbaijan joined later, and with its involvement the project began to expand. Azerbaijan's involvement has opened up opportunities for Central Asian countries to join the project.

In August 2024, in Astana, the Ministers of Energy of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan signed a protocol following a trilateral meeting on the project of connecting energy systems. A draft Agreement on strategic partnership in the field of green energy development and transmission between the three countries has been agreed, and the Terms of Reference for the preparation of an initial feasibility study, which will be developed by the Italian company CESI, have been approved. At the end of the year, the national electric power companies of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan signed a Founding agreement on the establishment of the Green Corridor Association joint venture. It was emphasized that the joint venture, headquartered in Baku, is an important step in the implementation of the Azerbaijan-Central Asian Green Energy Corridor project and shaping the energy future of the region.

The project provides for connecting the energy systems of the three countries by laying a high-voltage cable along the bottom of the Caspian Sea and on the territory of the countries with the implementation of the most optimal from a technical and economic point of view trade in green energy produced in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan will lay an electric cable within their maritime borders, in full compliance with the Convention on the Status of the Caspian Sea, signed by the countries of the region in 2018. In 2019, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan announced the start of laying fiber-optic cables under the sea. The TransCaspian Fiber Optic project is designed to connect China and the European Union.

The resources obtained as a result of the interconnection of the energy systems of the three countries will travel a long way to Europe. But the project is worth it. It will help the Central Asian countries access the Black Sea Energy corridor through the Black Sea.

Azerbaijan and the Central Asian countries have significant potential for solar and wind energy. The relatively low population density, large territory and many sunny days a year make our countries a unique platform for the development of green energy. Joint participation in projects related to alternative energy sources will allow each country to ensure the effective use of its potential.

Of course, there are problems. In particular, the very high cost of upgrading the existing electricity generation infrastructure in Central Asia. It is so high that international financial structures do not undertake to finance projects in their entirety, but only make targeted injections into individual components. Combining the energy systems of our three countries will solve the problem to some extent. It is possible that as the Black Sea Transmission Line project is implemented, interest in investing in the Caspian submarine cable and the energy infrastructure of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan will grow. Apparently, Europe is very interested in importing electricity, even from such long distances.

As a rule, European countries are small in area and have a high population density. Meanwhile, solar and wind power plants require large spaces. Attempts to compensate for the lack of space for a large solar power plant with some innovations will cost even more. In such a situation, the import of green energy will be much cheaper.

It should also be noted that Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan can play a major role in the extraction of critical raw materials, which these countries are rich in and which are used in the production of solar panels, wind turbines and batteries. For example, Kazakhstan currently produces 19 of the 34 types of critical raw materials of the European Union.

In short, the region is attractive both in terms of the possibilities of using renewable energy sources, and in terms of the extraction of raw materials and the production of equipment for generating green energy. I think Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan will try to make full use of these advantages.