BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 27. Azerbaijan and international financial institutions (IFIs) plan to agree upon and approve a new electricity project called the Azerbaijan Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Project (AZURE) by November 2024, an informed source told Trend.
This project involves the establishment of a system for transmitting electricity from renewable energy sources such as solar power plants (SPPs) and wind power plants (WPPs).
The initiative is being discussed with Uzbekistan and Türkiye, and there is a possibility of expanding the number of participants.
The preliminary project aims to establish infrastructure for transmitting 1.2 GW of green energy.
"The AZURE project has been in development since February 2024, with discussions ongoing for all its segments. Therefore, the total financing amount has not yet been determined. However, it has been learned that the World Bank (WB), through its structure, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), may provide $250 million for this project in the form of a long-term loan," the source explained.
According to the source, discussions on the project's fundamentals with its participants will take place in mid-July 2024.
"In Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Energy, its structure — the State Renewable Energy Agency—and AzerEnergy OJSC are responsible for the project. If all aspects of the AZURE project are agreed upon, it could be approved by October 31, 2024, just before COP29," the source emphasized.
The source also reminded that since 2009, Azerbaijan's power grids have been actively expanding, with access available to all electricity producers.
"However, electricity production from renewable energy sources will significantly grow by 2027, requiring the expansion and modernization of the transmission network. This includes adding new substations, power transmission lines, network automation and digitalization, and improving network management methods (segments of AZURE).
Such a scope of work urges substantial investment, and along with the WB, Azerbaijan is discussing this project with the Asian Development Bank and other IFIs," the source added.
To note, over the next few years, Azerbaijan plans to increase the share of renewable energy sources in the country's energy balance to 30-33 percent from the current eight percent.
This November, Azerbaijan will host COP29. This decision was made at the COP28 plenary meeting held in Dubai on December 11 last year. Baku will become the center of the world and will receive about 70–80,000 foreign guests.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system. The COP—the Conference of the Parties—is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change. There are 198 countries that are parties to the Convention. Unless the parties agree otherwise, the COP is held annually. The first COP event took place in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.