BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 3. North Macedonia aims to balance electricity production with gas supplies from Azerbaijan, Goran Nikolovski, Head of the Gas Sector at the Ministry of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources of North Macedonia, told Trend on the sidelines of the 12th meeting of the Ministers of the Advisory Council on the Southern Gas Corridor and the 4th meeting of the Ministers of the Advisory Council on Green Energy in Baku.
"As part of our long-term strategy, we plan to secure gas supplies from Azerbaijan. The goal is to use this gas in our coordination plans," he explained.
According to him, this will allow meeting base and peak loads as well as ensure the flexibility of renewable energy sources.
"Our country has about two gigawatts of renewable energy capacity. We aim to balance electricity production through gas supplies from Azerbaijan. This balancing is especially important at night and during periods of low production.
As for expanding cooperation in this area, some progress has been made so far. Working groups have been established with relevant Azerbaijani agencies, and it is intended to further increase cooperation between the two ministries through this mechanism," he said.
On the matter of signing new documents, the minister pointed out that a pertinent memorandum was inked between the two countries back in December 2024.
"In the coming period, after the completion of gas projects in our country, a new memorandum is planned to be signed. On the basis of that document, a broader cooperation agreement is planned to be concluded.
We have high expectations for this conference. We expect new members to join this meeting at the ministerial level. There are sufficient natural gas reserves, especially in the southeastern part of Europe. In this regard, we see the initiative as a real opportunity to diversify the sources of gas supplies to Europe. At the same time, this process can contribute to strengthening Europe's energy security," the minister added.
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