The Black Sea electric cable project will cement Azerbaijan’s role as a reliable energy supplier, Julian Bowden, Senior Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES) told Trend.
Bowden believes that this remains an ambitious plan. "It will be technically complex, and the commercial arrangements are also complex. There is the issue of building the physical cable. But there is also issue of generating the electricity to put in it. If it can be done, then it will help cement Azerbaijan’s role as a reliable energy supplier westward to Europe," he said.
Overall, talking about Azerbaijan’s contribution to Europe’s decarbonization, the expert said to the extent that Azerbaijani gas has played a role in reducing coal consumption in Europe, it has played a positive role in the road to decarbonization.
He noted that Azerbaijan supplies gas, it is a fossil fuel and not regarded as green, although it is better than coal.
"We are all on the journey towards a decarbonized future, and all countries are at different stages on this journey. Azerbaijan is fortunate in some ways that it does not have to eliminate coal in its energy balance – it did this many decades ago," said Bowden.
He pointed out that Azerbaijan is starting now, with wind and solar projects being built, the country has a long way to go yet before it can become a major green energy supplier to Europe.
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary, and Romania signed an agreement in Bucharest on December 17, 2022 to build an underwater electric cable under the Black Sea. The project could become a new power source for the European Union. The 1,100-kilometer cable from Azerbaijan to Romania will provide Azerbaijani energy for the rest of the continent. The project could be completed within three to four years.
The results of the preliminary study on the project will be known in September.
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