Slovenia sees great potential for cooperation with Azerbaijan in renewables - ministry

Slovenia sees great potential for cooperation with Azerbaijan in the field of renewables.

Hinko Solinc, director of the Directorate of Energy at Slovenia’s Ministry of Infrastructure said in an exclusive interview with Trend.

"In Slovenia, we are currently particularly focused on promoting solar energy, where we see the most potential. However, we are also targeting projects using wind, hydro, geothermal energy, and biomass, as well as the production of hydrogen from RES and the production of biogas," he said.

Solinc pointed out that Slovenia supports efforts to strengthen EU energy sources diversification.

"Keeping in mind our partnership in the framework of the Eastern Partnership energy panel, we particularly welcome increasing cooperation with Azerbaijan in the field of energy supply. Slovenia welcomes any project that complies with EU legislation and contributes to greater energy security and diversification of energy sources. The more providers there are on the market, the greater the competition and consequently the supply of natural gas for the end user," he added.

Hinko Solinc noted that Slovenia is encouraging its natural gas providers to diversify their supply away from Russian fossil fuels.

"One potential alternative source is also Azerbaijan. In this respect, we see the Southern Gas Corridor as a great opportunity to increase energy cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan," he believes.

Southern Gas Corridor started transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe on December 31, 2020. It transports gas from the Caspian Sea region to European countries through Georgia and Türkiye.

The project’s cost totalled $33 billion, as compared to the forecast $45 billion. Capital expenditures on the SGC project are expected to be fully reimbursed within 8-10 years.

In July 2022, Azerbaijan and the EU agreed to increase the volume of gas supplies via the Southern Gas Corridor from the current 10 bcm to 20 bcm by 2027.