BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 9. ''Azerenergy'' OJSC and the World Bank discussed the implementation of the AZURE project.
This was announced in a report published by the ''Azerenergy'' OJSC.
However, it is noted that the meeting took place between delegations led by Azerenergy OJSC Chairman Baba Rzayev and World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus Rolande Pryce.
''During the meeting, the parties discussed the overall progress of the AZURE project, the current status of its individual components, upcoming work, and new opportunities for cooperation. The parties also exchanged views in detail on the integration of large-scale renewable energy projects into Azerbaijan’s power grid and the prospects for further cooperation in this area,'' Azerenergy informs.
Meanwhile, the main goal of the AZURE project is to ensure the sustainable and secure integration into the power grid of 2 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity currently under construction in the country.
To this end, the 500/330 kV ''Navakhi'' power hub is being built in Azerbaijan, which will serve as the main hub substation. High-voltage power lines with voltages of 500 and 330 kilovolts are being laid from this hub in various directions across the country. As part of the first phase of the project, funded by Azerenergy’s internal resources and partially by the state budget, construction of the 330-kilovolt section of the ''Navakhi'' substation is nearing completion, as well as the 500-kilovolt transmission line from Navakhi to Absheron and the 330-kilovolt transmission lines to the Bilasuvar and Banka solar power plants. Upon completion of this phase, the Bankya and Bilasuvar solar power plants will be connected to the unified power grid.
In the second phase of the project, financed by the World Bank, plans call for the procurement and installation of equipment for the 500-kilovolt section of the ''Navakhi'' substation, including transformers, as well as the construction of a 500-kilovolt transmission line from ''Navakhi'' to Mingachevir and 330-kilovolt lines toward Alat, Absheron, and Gobu. This phase is expected to be completed within three years.
