BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 24. The research on a project to export "green" energy from Azerbaijan to the EU via Georgia and the Black Sea will be carried out during 2024, Trend reports referring to Javid Abdullayev, Director of the Agency for Renewable Energy Sources (RES) under the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan.
A joint venture will be established to implement the project in the first half of 2024. Also within the framework of this project, negotiations are underway on the transmission of green energy from Central Asian countries to Europe via the Caspian Sea bed. Electricity flows from RES in the Caspian countries can go in both directions, research will begin this year.
To continue the development of RES in Azerbaijan itself, two land plots were allocated for several projects last year. Shortly it is planned to allocate several more areas for RES projects, and then the process of selecting a producer in these areas through auctions will begin. The auctions will be announced in the second quarter of this year, with the winning companies to be determined by the end of 2024.
Abdullayev believes that by 2027, Azerbaijan will be able to integrate up to 2 gigawatts of renewable energy sources into the grid. He also emphasized that working groups on hydrogen production have been established in Azerbaijan. SOCAR is also involved in this activity. Hydrogen production will be one of the priority topics to be discussed at the COP29 conference in Baku. Currently, projects in this field are being prepared together with foreign companies. As for hydrogen exports from Azerbaijan, four directions can be considered: delivery of hydrogen mixtures through the Southern Gas Corridor; construction of a separate pipeline for hydrogen exports; installation of electrolyzers in the territory close to European countries to produce hydrogen from green energy exported from Azerbaijan; export of products made from hydrogen.
8 industrial-scale power plants will be commissioned in Azerbaijan by 2027 to increase the share of renewable energy sources (RES) in total electricity generation, Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said during the meeting in Washington with Rick Duke, Deputy Special Representative of the U.S. President for Climate Change.
According to the Ministry of Energy, Shahbazov briefed the interlocutor on the creation of a new legislative framework in the energy sector in a short period and the decarbonization of oil and gas operations, including the activities of the Sangachal terminal. During the meeting, the course of Azerbaijan, which will adopt COP 29, to accelerate the transition to green energy, the national contribution to decarbonization (NDC), and the country's cooperation with the US on the creation of a green energy corridor towards the EU were also discussed.
"The meeting also discussed cooperation with the US on the creation of a "green energy corridor" between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, and Hungary for the export of green electricity" and green gas based on the Caspian Sea wind energy potential of 157 GW," the statement of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Energy said.
The World Bank (WB) may assist Azerbaijan in the implementation of projects on solar electric power (SES) in Bilasuvar and the Banka settlement of Neftchala district with a total capacity of 760 MW. It should be noted that the capacity of SES in Bilasuvar will be 445 MW, and in Bank village of Neftchala district, it will be 315 MW. The projects are planned to be implemented by the end of 2024.
The Azerbaijani side stressed the importance of accelerating financial support for the program to integrate eight wind and solar power plants into the national grid by 2027.
"This is being discussed in close cooperation with the EBRD, WB, and other potential partners, and the acceleration of financial support is important for the realization of our country's renewable energy goals," the press release stressed.
Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia have discussed opportunities to expand joint activities in the field of renewable energy, Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikail Jabbarov wrote on X after a meeting with Majed Hindi Alotaibi, Saudi Deputy Energy Minister for Technical and Regulatory Affairs of the Oil and Gas Industry.
Elnur Aliyev, First Deputy Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan, met with Sultan Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Fund for Development, during his visit to Saudi Arabia. At these talks, the sides discussed areas of cooperation on renewable energy projects, Azerbaijan's cooperation with ACWA Power Company, and the investment potential of the territories of Azerbaijan liberated from occupation.
One of the key topics at COP29 will be finance, Azerbaijan's chief COP29 negotiator, Yalchin Rafiyev, said during a roundtable discussion on the 28th and 29th sessions of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28 and COP29). "Azerbaijan is ideally placed to facilitate inclusive discussions to achieve tangible progress in the climate negotiations. Only through an inclusive COP conference can we forge the right way forward. One of our key themes at COP29 will be finance. Mobilizing finance for mitigation, adaptation, loss, and damage will be crucial to our efforts. This will require the joint efforts of countries, international organizations, and the private sector," he said. Rafiyev noted that Azerbaijan is looking forward to cooperating with the International Energy Agency (IEA) within the framework of its COP29 chairmanship.
The Kazakh Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Alim Bayel, congratulated the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, Mukhtar Babayev, on the country's chairmanship of COP29 this year. In turn, Mukhtar Babayev, emphasizing that COP29 will be one of the largest events ever held in Azerbaijan in terms of scale and number of participants, talked about the process of preparation for it. The sides also discussed the prospects for the development of green diplomacy and exchanged views on topical issues on the global and regional environmental agenda. In addition, within the framework of the bilateral meeting, the parties discussed some Kazakh initiatives aimed at supporting climate dialog in the region.
Negotiations were held between representatives of the UK Department of Energy Security and Zero Emissions and representatives of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Economy, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, which play an important role in the organization of COP29. This was reported by the British Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Fergus Auld, on his social media account.
A meeting was held between the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, Mukhtar Babayev, and the Latvian Ambassador to the country, Edgars Skuja. The meeting exchanged views on preparations for the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which Azerbaijan will host this year.
"Azerbaijan's upcoming chairmanship of COP29 will increase Europe's interest in the Caspian region," Richard Hoagland, head of the U.S. Caspian Policy Center and prominent U.S. diplomat, said.
The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UNICEF, and Latin America Climate Reality Project launched the Young Climate Ambassadors program to select 35 representatives of Mexican youth to participate in COP29 in Baku, the Mexican Foreign Ministry website reported.
Germany shows serious interest in the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), Permanent Representative of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Azerbaijan Heiko Schwarz said. He recalled that last month State Secretary and Special Envoy of the German Foreign Ministry for International Climate Policy Jennifer Morgan visited Baku, and very fruitful negotiations with various ministries were held during the visit.
The European Commission will closely cooperate with the COP29 team for its successful implementation. EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said this in an exclusive interview with Trend on the occasion of the meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Board to be held in Baku on March 1.
"We welcome Azerbaijan joining at COP28 the global commitment to triple renewable capacity and double energy efficiency measures by 2030. This was an important milestone in our energy partnership. We will work closely with the COP29 team to realize this commitment and ensure a successful COP29. The second Green Energy Advisory Council will focus on the development of Azerbaijan's vast offshore wind and solar energy capacity, as well as the development of physical interconnections and market integration at the regional level," the Commissioner emphasized.
Simson added that the upcoming meetings in Baku will allow European officials and companies to continue interaction with partners on the development of offshore wind power and SES capacities and promote investments by European businesses in the Azerbaijani market. "In this context, we call on the Azerbaijani authorities to start implementing an open and transparent auction regime for renewable energy projects as soon as possible," she added.
''The European Commission urges us to improve the economic
feasibility of the Azerbaijan-Europe green energy corridor
project,'' Kadri Simson said.
"We are following with great interest the initiative of laying a
bidirectional line along the bottom of the Black Sea between
Georgia and Romania. The feasibility study is ongoing. This project
is already included in the ten-year development plan of the
European Network of Electricity Transmission System Operators. It
is also included as a flagship project in the EU Global Gateway
strategy," she emphasized.
Azerbaijan and the US have agreed to hold a dialogue to harmonize energy security and climate goals, the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan reported after a meeting between the head of the ministry, Parviz Shahbazov, and Assistant to US President Sarah Ladislaw.
Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov visited the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Denver, familiarized himself with its activities, and discussed partnership opportunities. "The minister familiarized himself with the activities of the laboratory, which plays an important role in energy transformation and is engaged in research, development, and application of new technologies for renewable energy and energy efficiency," the Energy Ministry noted.
Azerbaijani Deputy Energy Minister Kamal Abbasov spoke in Riyadh at the 14th International Energy Agency (IEA)-International Energy Forum (IEF)-Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) symposium on energy review. He noted Azerbaijan's achievements in the energy sector, both in the field of traditional and renewable energy sources. Azerbaijan's interest in developing green hydrogen projects was reported, and it was emphasized that the potential for production and export of hydrogen from renewable energy sources (RES) is being explored to meet the growing demand for low-carbon energy.
Sue Biniaz, Deputy Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Issues at the U.S. State Department, has arrived on a visit to Azerbaijan, the U.S. Embassy said on Thursday. "Sue Biniaz will meet with government officials to emphasize US support for the successful COP29 in Baku in November," the statement said.
Prospects for green hydrogen production in the countries of Central Asia and the Caspian region will be discussed on September 17 in Astana, the organizer of the event, the international company Globuc, said.
The EU is drafting common rules for technologies to capture CO2
from the atmosphere.
"The European Council and the European Parliament reached a
preliminary agreement on February 20 on the establishment of the
first certification system for technologies aimed at removing
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere," EU documents say. Standards
will be set to assess the effectiveness and reliability of such
technologies.
With the help of low-carbon energy, Azerbaijan will be able to achieve a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, thereby reducing the rate of climate change and temperature rise, and a lot of work is being done in this area in the country, Director of the Institute of Radiation Problems of the Ministry of Science and Education and corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, Doctor of Chemical Sciences Islam Mustafayev, told Trend.
The Shafag solar power plant (SPP) project in Azerbaijan will be among the first projects to be implemented by Lightsource bp, a subsidiary of bp (bp's acquisition of a controlling stake in Lightsource will be finalized in the second half of the year). "The combined new Lightsource bp company will be responsible for the construction, commissioning, and operation of the Shafagh (Sunrise) SES in the Jabrail district (East Zangezur economic region) of Azerbaijan. Construction will start in October 2024 and will take about 18 months, tentatively until November 2025," bp noted in its materials.
The power plant will be built 6 kilometers south of the town of Jabrayil, near the village of Hajili on an area of 802 hectares. The capacity of the plant is 240 MW AC (generating capacity), which can reach 288 MW at peak. The electricity generated by the power plant will be transmitted to Azerbaijan's national power grid. Construction of a 33/330 kV substation is also planned as part of the project. The SES is scheduled to be put into commercial operation in December 2025.
Azerenerji and bp signed a memorandum of understanding on February 20 to develop a technical feasibility study for the Sangachal terminal electrification project called STEL (bp is the operator of the Sangachal terminal). The parties will also jointly agree on the detailed technical design and commercial basis of the project to clarify the scope of work. The document recalls that the "Sangachal Terminal Electrification Project" (STEL) is being implemented together with bp's 240 MW Shafag solar power plant project in the Jabrayil region.
Power will be transferred from Shafag to Jabrayil district, while it will be supplied to the Sangachal terminal from the Azerenerji grid.
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