BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 25. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is following the developments on the Black Sea submarine cable initiative with great interest, Nataly Mouravidze, Head of EBRD operations in Azerbaijan, told Trend.
As she pointed out, investment in strengthening Azerbaijan’s power grid is a key to the growth of the country’s nascent renewable energy sector.
"It is a very ambitious project aiming to link Azerbaijan and Georgia with European power grids. As of now, we know that the project is in its exploratory phase, but we are fully prepared to explore potential investments not only in this endeavor, but also in other grid-related projects throughout the region in general, and Azerbaijan in particular," Mouravidze added.
The head of EBRD operations in the country also noted that the bank remains in close contact with different developers who are planning to implement new renewable energy projects in Azerbaijan.
"We remain steadfast in our support of Azerbaijan’s renewable energy ambitions declared through the country’s resolute Paris Agreement commitments," she added.
Azerbaijan, Romania Georgia and Hungary signed an agreement to build a Black Sea sea-belt electric cable from the Black Sea coast of Georgia to the Black Sea coast of Romania on December 17, 2022.
As part of this project, it is planned to lay a 1,195-kilometer power transmission line with a capacity of 1,000 MW between Georgia and Romania and install a digital connecting cable. To this end, with the support of the World Bank, it is planned to prepare a technical and economic justification of the project by the end of 2023.