Baku: The Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan has successfully conducted the first meeting of the working group for the AZURE project, aimed at integrating renewable energy into the national power grid. The meeting, held on October 14, discussed various strategies for connecting wind and solar energy sources to enhance the existing network capabilities and explored funding solutions for the project.

According to Trend News Agency, the session was chaired by Deputy Energy Minister Samir Valiyev and featured significant contributions from Roger Coma Cunill, a Senior Energy Expert at the World Bank, and Teona Elizarashvili, a transmission network specialist. The meeting, conducted in a hybrid format, concentrated on technical aspects of integrating renewable energy, including the construction of a new 500/330 kV substation in the Hajigabul region and the development of solar and wind power plants with a combined capacity of 1 GW.

Yusif Gayibov, Head of the Division in charge of International Financial-Credit Inst
itutions at Azerenerji OJSC, provided an update on the AZURE project’s current progress and outlined the steps needed to move forward. He highlighted the involvement of various stakeholders including the Ministry of Energy, the Energy Regulatory Agency, the Ministry of Finance, and the World Bank, which is expected to support the project with a proposed loan of approximately $250 million.

The AZURE project aligns with Azerbaijan’s broader energy goals, targeting an increase in the share of renewables in its energy mix to 30-33 percent by 2030. This initiative is part of a series of projects involving international collaboration, such as those with Masdar, aimed at bolstering the country’s renewable energy infrastructure.