Black Sea Energy project feasibility study to be ready in next two months - Aliyev

BAKU. Dec 18 (Interfax) - The feasibility study for the Black Sea Energy project to supply green energy to Europe will be ready in the next two months, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.

"The feasibility study for the construction of an energy cable from here, from Azerbaijan, to Europe along the Black Sea bed will be completed in the next few weeks or a couple of months," Aliyev said in an interview with the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company.

He said the cable would be capable of exporting 4 GW of green energy at the first stage - 1 GW was initially declared.

"However, given the energy needs of European countries, even giving that they themselves are investing a lot, we know that they will still be in deficit, so they will need additional sources of clean green energy," Aliyev said.

Azerbaijan, Romania, Georgia and Hungary signed an agreement in Bucharest on December 17, 2022, on strategic partnership, which includes the construction of an energy bridge from the Caucasus region to Europe. This involves laying a 1,195 km Black Sea Energy submarine cable with capacity of 1 GW. A decision was reached in June 2023 for Bulgaria to join the project.

The power grid operators of Azerbaijan, Romania, Georgia and Hungary signed a memorandum in May 2024 to set up a joint operating company for the project.

Romanian power grid operator Transelectrica, Azerbaijan's Azerenerji, Georgian State Electrosystem (GSE) and Hungary's MVM signed the shareholder agreement to form the Green Energy Corridor joint venture to deliver the project in September.

Laying the cable will take three or four years at an estimated cost of 3.5 billion euros. The European Commission plans to provide 2.3 billion euros for the project.