World Bank to lend Azerbaijan $173.5 mln for renewable energy development

BAKU. March 28 (Interfax) - The World Bank's Board of Directors has approved a $173.5-million loan to help fund the Azerbaijan Scaling-Up Renewable Energy (AZURE) project.

The bank said on its website that the project is aimed towards strengthening electricity networks and will allow the country to diversify its energy balance, satisfying growing electricity demands with a more sustainable and reliable power grid.

Loan funds will be used to expand and modernize electrical infrastructure, which will also create favorable conditions for private sector investments in renewable energy, in particular, wind energy.

"The project will help unlock an initial $384 million in private investments, paving the way for further renewable energy investments, as Azerbaijan considers expanding its energy exports," the World Bank said on its website.

The AZURE project focuses on reinforcing key transmission lines and substations in order to connect the 240-Megawatt Absheron-Garadagh Wind Power Plant to the transmission grid, expand the 330/500 kV high-voltage grid to ensure safe and reliable evacuation of up to 1 gigawatt of privately developed renewable power generation, and improve grid stability to better integrate 1.8 gigawatts of renewable electricity through private investments.

The World Bank said that this was the first project aimed at supporting Azerbaijan's green energy corridor initiative.

Azerbaijan has been a member of the World Bank since 1992. Throughout this period, the country has implemented 50 projects with the help of World Bank loans totaling $3.5 billion.