Azerbaijan pushes forward with €3.5 billion green energy project Linking Caspian Sea, Black Sea, and Europe

Azerbaijan is creating the necessary infrastructure to launch the green energy corridor connecting the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, and Europe through renewable energy projects, according to a report in IEEE Spectrum.

The project, which aims to establish an underwater power cable, could be completed within the next six years with an estimated cost of €3.5 billion, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

However, the article highlights that governments involved in the project must swiftly address several technical and financial challenges to ensure its success.

Consulting and engineering firm CESI, based in Milan, has assessed the project's potential, estimating that the cable could carry up to 1.5 gigawatts (GW), enough to power more than two million European households. CESI is currently conducting a second study to evaluate the effectiveness of the energy corridor from the Caspian to Europe and the potential to increase the capacity from 4 to 6 GW.

Azerbaijan is laying the groundwork for this project by developing solar and wind power plants, attracting foreign investments from companies such as Masdar (UAE) and ACWA Power (Saudi Arabia). These efforts will help to build power stations with a combined capacity of over 11 GW.

The article also suggests that the upcoming COP29 climate conference in Baku could provide a platform for advancing the project, which is described as transcontinental.

Notably, on December 17, 2022, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, and Hungary signed an agreement in Bucharest for a strategic partnership to build the Black Sea Energy underwater cable, with a capacity of 1 GW and a length of 1,195 kilometres.

The European Commission plans to allocate €2.3 billion to support the project.

By Aghakazim Guliyev