BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 8. The initial stage of the World Bank's 10-year, $2 billion Accelerating the Market Transition for Distributed Energy Program (ECARES MPA) initiative, aimed at bolstering the adoption of renewable energy sources in Europe and Central Asia, has commenced, Trend reports.
The ECARES MPA program takes a multi-stage approach to expanding renewable energy in 23 developing countries in the Europe and Central Asia region, with Türkiye being the first recipient of funding ($657 million) to accelerate Türkiye's market transformation in distributed energy, specifically to build an additional 60 GW of solar and wind capacity by 2035.
Türkiye's Ministry of Energy has confirmed its plans to create 60 GW of capacity, intending to commission 5 GW of renewable energy within 12 years from 2024.
Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov and a World Bank delegation discussed the preparation of a new joint AZURE project on April 5 in Baku, related to the integration of the planned 2 GW of renewable energy sources into the power grid.
However, Trend has learned from an informed source that Azerbaijan and the WB are still at odds over the timing of the AZURE project, as Baku aims to start its implementation in 2025, while the WB considers 2027 as a realistic year.
A day earlier, on April 4, Parviz Shahbazov, at a meeting with a delegation of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), named priority projects for cooperation: offshore wind energy, green hydrogen, the installation of solar panels on buildings in Nakhchivan city, the decarbonization of heat supply, and the operation of the Energy Efficiency Fund." The Azerbaijani minister also announced plans to commission nine renewable energy power plants by 2027.
In particular, a 100 kW floating solar power plant (photovoltaic system) on the Boyukshor lake will be put into operation in the fall of 2024, on the eve of the Baku COP29 summit, with technical support for its creation provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
During the first week of April, Eugene Zhukov, Director General of the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Central and West Asia Department, met with Mukhtar Babayev, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan. The sides 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.
Zhukov and Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikail Jabbarov likewise discussed potential financing opportunities in Baku aimed at addressing climate change issues.
On April 5, at the meeting between Samir Nuriyev, Head of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Chairman of the COP29 Organizing Committee, and Eugene Zhukov, Director General of the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Central and West Asia Department, it was noted that this year marks the 25th anniversary of Azerbaijan's cooperation with ADB, and the country highly appreciates this cooperation. Nuriyev informed about the projects in the direction of the development of the green transition agenda and the ongoing work on the organization of COP29.
In its press release, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Azerbaijan's additional partner bank, emphasized its commitment to supporting Azerbaijan's green agenda and expressed readiness to contribute to the success of the significant COP29 event, as stated by Nataly Mouravidze, Head of the EBRD in Azerbaijan.
COP29 was also a key topic at the meeting of Mukhtar Babayev, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, with Mohamed Abdel-Salam, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Elders and Co-President of Religions for Peace.
PASHA Holding, one of the leading holdings in the country, announced the beginning of cooperation with the Azerbaijani office of the United Nations (UN) to raise awareness of the UN Conference on Climate Change and Sustainable Development. In view of this, the holding has also joined the series of discussions of the UN office, "29 climate negotiations: path to COP29".
It also became known that the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) appointed Nazim Mammadov (UNDP national coordinator for environmental projects) as COP29 coordinator for UNDP in Azerbaijan.
Radu Magdin, CEO of Romanian consultancy Smartlink Communications, a global analyst, consultant, and researcher, indicated to Trend that potential green energy agreements at COP29 in Azerbaijan might facilitate entry into broader markets.
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) announced in a press release that Bonn, Germany, will host a climate change conference from June 3–13 as part of the 60th session of the UNFCCC subsidiary bodies. This event will encompass approximately 20 sessions covering various topics on the climate agenda. The high-level events in Bonn were endorsed in March 2024 by the "troika" of Climate Summit Presidents: the UAE (COP28, held in December 2023), Azerbaijan (COP29, scheduled for November 2024 in Baku), and Brazil (COP30, in 2025).
On April 4–5, Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso, visiting Azerbaijan, also assessed Azerbaijan's progress on green initiatives. Thus, on April 5, he got acquainted with the operation of the Garadagh Solar Power Plant (SPP) with a capacity of 230 MW built by Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar).
It was revealed last week that Congo seeks to leverage Azerbaijan's expertise in the realm of renewable energy. During his visit to Baku, Foreign Minister of Congo Jean-Claude Gakosso mentioned in an exclusive interview with Trend that his country holds significant potential in hydropower and solar energy systems and is keen on acquiring Azerbaijan's relevant experience in this area.
On April 3, Azerbaijani MP Sevinj Huseynova told Trend that Azerbaijan pays great attention to the development of green energy potential in Azerbaijan.
She added that the country has joined the global initiative to triple the volume of renewable energy by 2030 and double energy efficiency.
MP Afet Hasanova noted that in order to develop the sphere of renewable energy sources in Azerbaijan, agreements have been signed with major world companies specializing in this field, and the creation of more than 10 hydroelectric power plants in Karabakh is envisaged. In her opinion, these and other measures will gradually increase the share of energy from green energy sources in the energy balance of the country. Azerbaijan's wide potential in the field of renewable energy sources allows for the realization of a wide range of measures in this direction.
On April 5, Azerbaijan Railways CJSC (ADY) reported on its steps within the framework of the implementation of Azerbaijan's strategy for the development of the green economy. Thus, in 2023, solar panels were installed in the new locomotive depot, which produces 79 thousand kilowatt-hours of green energy and reduces emissions into the atmosphere.
On the same day, the Azerkosmos OJSC space agency announced its intention to measure carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere. This was announced by Chairman of the Board of Azerkosmos, OJSC Samaddin Asadov, during the event on "View on Climate Change from Space".
Azerbaijani citizens were presented with a new e-platform that will publish information based on data from the Azersky satellite to raise awareness of climate change.
Talking to journalists, Asadov expressed hope that this "Climate Change from Space" e-platform will help the success of the COP29 event.
The sixth meeting of the Working Group on coordination and monitoring of the application of green technologies and energy efficiency requirements in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan was held at the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan on April 4.
In addition, the chairman of the Green World Public Union for Environmental Education, Elman Jafarli, told Trend that Azerbaijan will become an exporter of green and hydrogen energy in the near future.
During a five-sided meeting of top officials from the Prosecutor Generals' Offices of the Caspian littoral states in Baku on April 4, Iran's Deputy Prosecutor General Gholam-Abbas Torki urged for the preservation of biodiversity in the Caspian Sea. Torki highlighted the significance of over 200 existing documents pertaining to the protection of the Caspian Sea, emphasizing their crucial role in preventing the exploitation of its resources.