BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 24. The Green Energy Corridor project, designed to connect Azerbaijan’s renewable energy resources with European markets via Georgia and the Black Sea, requires €14.3 billion in transmission investment, according to the project’s feasibility study.
The feasibility study has been completed and endorsed by the governments of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary, with the project now entering its development phase.
The planned multi-terminal high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission corridor will comprise three links with a combined capacity of 3.9 gigawatts (GW), or 1.3 GW each. The project’s economic internal rate of return (IRR) is estimated at 11.7%, according to the study.
The corridor is expected to enable the export of 8 TWh of renewable electricity annually to the European Union (EU) by 2032, rising to 20 TWh per year by 2040.
Congestion revenues are projected to exceed €315 million annually from 2032.
The project is also expected to reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by 3.6 million tonnes per year by 2040.
Annual economic benefits are projected to increase as additional links become operational. The first link, scheduled for 2032, is expected to generate annual benefits of €860 million. Following the planned commissioning of the second link in 2036, annual benefits are projected to reach €1.8 billion. With the third link scheduled for 2040, annual benefits are expected to exceed €3 billion.
The Green Energy Corridor is a cross-border electricity transmission initiative involving Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary. It was established under a Strategic Partnership Agreement signed in Bucharest on December 17, 2022, with the participation of the European Commission.
The project is being developed by Green Energy Corridor Power Company (GECO), a Bucharest-based joint venture owned by the four countries’ national electricity companies.
Its shareholders each hold an equal 25% stake: Azerbaijan’s AzerEnerji, Georgia’s Georgian State Electrosystem, Romania’s Transelectrica and Hungary’s MVM.
The project is included in the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) Ten-Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP) 2026 under project numbers 1248 and 1244.
