BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 27. Azerbaijan's Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov, Regional Director for Infrastructure for Europe and Central Asia at the World Bank (WB) Charles Cormier, and WB Regional Director for the South Caucasus Rolande Pryce discussed cooperation prospects on the modernization of the power grid, Trend reports via the Ministry of Energy.
The meeting held an exchange of views on the current projects in Azerbaijan's energy sector and new opportunities for cooperation, including in the areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency, grid modernization, energy storage systems, rooftop solar energy, and regional energy projects.
"The progress of the joint AZURE project with the WB was discussed, emphasizing its importance for the sustainable integration of renewable energy capacity into the power grid. The need for modernization, digitalization, and increased reliability of electricity transmission and distribution networks was emphasized amid growing demand from data centers and artificial intelligence technologies, as well as the increasing number of electric vehicles," the ministry said.
According to the ministry, opportunities for cooperation with the WB on the Caspian-Black Sea-Europe: Green Energy Corridor project were also explored.
"The project's relationship with the Georgia-Romania Black Sea Submarine Cable initiative was discussed, as were their contributions to European energy security and their role in regional integration. Prospects for expanding Azerbaijan's role as a regional energy supplier, not only through electricity but also gas exports, were touched upon.
Furthermore, ongoing work in energy efficiency and further steps in this direction were discussed. The existing potential for reducing energy consumption in public buildings, the activities of the Energy Efficiency Fund, and opportunities for implementing international experience were considered. Continuing technical assistance and knowledge sharing in this area was deemed appropriate," the ministry added.
Azerbaijan's Scaling-Up Renewable Energy (AZURE) project, supported by a $173.5 million World Bank loan, aims to modernize the country's electricity transmission infrastructure to integrate up to 1 GW of renewable energy. It focuses on connecting large-scale wind and solar projects to the national grid, enhancing energy security, and promoting private sector investment in green energy.
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