The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved the project titled “Accelerating the Implementation of Smart Energy Systems and Integration Infrastructure into Energy Grids (Subproject 2),” covering Azerbaijan and Thailand.
The project budget amounts to 1.5 million US dollars and will be financed by the Intelligent Energy Innovations Fund.
While the subproject primarily focuses on providing support to Azerbaijan and Thailand, it may be expanded in the future to meet the needs of other developing member countries of the ADB. Among these countries are Kazakhstan (electric mobility and charging infrastructure), Kyrgyzstan (data centers), and Thailand (sustainable energy supply for data centers).
According to the ADB, the subproject aims to promote investments in smart energy systems and infrastructure for the integration of renewable energy sources (RES) into the grid, as well as to support the adoption of innovative technologies and digital solutions in beneficiary countries.
The project will be implemented as part of a technical assistance cluster and envisages the application of solutions in the areas of smart grids, cross-sectoral clean energy components, and RES integration.
Within the framework of implementation, country assessments, sectoral and technological reviews, and diagnostic studies on private sector development will be prepared. Project identification will be carried out for both sovereign and non-sovereign initiatives, along with preliminary and detailed technical-economic feasibility studies. Technology readiness levels will be enhanced through knowledge exchange and technical training.
Azerbaijan has been a member of the ADB since 1999. During this period, the bank has invested approximately 5.6 billion US dollars in the country: 4.4 billion in the public sector and 1.2 billion in the private sector. The most heavily financed sectors have been transport (1.5 billion dollars) and energy (1.7 billion dollars).
Under the new partnership strategy, the ADB stands ready to provide up to an additional 2.5 billion US dollars in investments to Azerbaijan.
Established in 1966, the ADB is headquartered in Manila and unites 69 shareholder countries, 50 of which are from the Asia-Pacific region