Energy Minister met with World Bank`s Vice President

The Ministry of Energy Parviz Shahbazov met with Valerie Levkov, World Bank Group Vice President for Infrastructure.

The meeting focused on expanding cooperation in the areas of renewable energy, modernization of electricity grids, energy efficiency and regional energy connectivity.

It was noted that successful cooperation has been established between Azerbaijan and the World Bank across various fields, ranging from hydrocarbons to renewable energy projects and that significant potential exists for further expansion of this partnership in the coming years. It was emphasized that Azerbaijan’s rapid achievements in the renewable energy sector are an important indicator of the reforms being implemented in the country’s energy sector. The importance of Azerbaijan’s energy programs, particularly efforts aimed at strengthening the transmission grid, advancing regional energy integration and improving energy efficiency was underscored. It was stated that one of the major global challenges in the energy sector in recent years has been ensuring the resilience of transmission networks and integrating renewable energy capacities into energy systems. In this regard, Azerbaijan’s measures to expand and modernize its transmission network were assessed as a sound and strategic approach. The meeting also reviewed the work being carried out under the AZURE project, aimed at strengthening the transmission network to support the integration of renewable energy sources into the grid. 

During the discussions, Azerbaijan’s regional energy connectivity initiatives were given special attention. Information was provided on the progress of the feasibility study for the Green Energy Corridor project toward the Black Sea and Eastern Europe.  In addition, ongoing work on the Azerbaijan-Central Asia and Azerbaijan-Georgia-Türkiye-Bulgaria interconnector projects was discussed. It was also noted that the transmission line project from the Caspian region toward Nakhchivan and Türkiye is currently at the implementation stage.

The parties also assessed opportunities for cooperation with the World Bank on energy efficiency projects based on the ESCO model. It was noted that this model, under which the private sector generates revenue through energy savings without the use of public funds could also be beneficial for Azerbaijan.

The meeting further addressed cooperation on offshore wind energy projects, the implementation of smart grid technologies, and battery energy storage systems (BESS). The World Bank expressed its readiness to support Azerbaijan in these areas.