Wie treibt Aserbaidschans neuestes Kraftwerk den Energiewandel des Landes voran?
In dieser Folge werfen wir einen Blick auf das Kraftwerk vom 8. November in Aserbaidschan, die größte Gasanlage im Südkaukasus. Mit seiner wasserstofftauglichen Technologie ist es ein wichtiger Schritt in der Energiewende des Landes.
Mit Unterstützung von Azpromo
LESEN SIE MEHR : http://de.euronews.com/2025/08/07/wie-treibt-aserbaidschans-neuestes-kraftwerk-den-energiewandel-des-landes-voran
00:00Azerbaijan's carbon dioxide footprint, actually greenhouse gas footprint, is around 60 million tons.
00:06So 2 million tons out of that will be avoided because of this plant.
00:19Hello and a very warm welcome to another episode of Energy Frontiers.
00:24This month we take a closer look at Azerbaijan's newest and most advanced power station, the 8th November Power Plant,
00:31located in Mingushevir, often called the nation's energy capital.
00:35In just a moment we'll hear from Deputy Minister of Energy Dr. Elnor Soltanov about what this means for regional gas diplomacy and domestic supply.
00:44But first, here's a quick overview of what's in play.
00:46The 8th November Power Plant is a high-efficiency gas facility, the largest of its kind in the South Caucasus.
00:56Powered by combined cycle technology, it's designed to generate up to 1,880 megawatts of electricity,
01:04whilst cutting emissions by around 50% compared to older infrastructure.
01:09Its hydrogen-ready turbines align with Azerbaijan's long-term, low-carbon ambitions.
01:17And by saving more than a billion cubic metres of gas each year,
01:20it has the potential to reshape the country's energy balance, both at home and abroad.
01:26So how will the plant contribute to Azerbaijan's energy transition?
01:31And how will its impact be measured in real terms?
01:34I'm delighted to say that I'm joined in studio now to answer all of these questions and more
01:39by Azerbaijan's Deputy Minister of Energy, Dr. Elnor Soltanov.
01:43A very warm welcome. It's great to see you again.
01:46Hi, Rebecca.
01:47Thank you for being here today.
01:48My pleasure.
01:49Let me start by asking you about the 8th of November Power Plant.
01:52It's now operational.
01:54But how will you measure its impact beyond capacity?
01:58And what does it actually mean to Azerbaijan in terms of the energy transition and your goals there?
02:02Thank you for the question.
02:05Capacity matters when we talk about the contribution of this new plant to Azerbaijani grid system, economy,
02:11and overall climate goals.
02:12Why?
02:13Because this plant used to be the biggest but least efficient power plant in Azerbaijan.
02:18But now it's the biggest but one of the most efficient power plants in Azerbaijan.
02:22Currently, as we talk, it's producing around 30% of all electricity consumed in Azerbaijan right now.
02:29That means that we are going to be filling and calculating very clearly how much natural gas
02:37we are going to be saving by relying on this plant at this capacity, at this level.
02:43Second, the earlier plant was boiler plant.
02:47The difference is combined cycle plants are very quick to respond to oscillations in the grid system.
02:54We all remember what happened in Spain a couple of months ago.
02:57This is especially valid and important when we talk about renewable energy.
03:01The plant is expected to free up more than a billion cubic meters of gas each year.
03:05Talk to me about how that surplus will be deployed.
03:08Is it purely for exports or do you have other plans?
03:11In the best of all possible worlds, this saving could go up to 1.2 BCM of gas, actually.
03:17And I believe that if you look at the amount of carbon dioxide that are reduced, that are avoided,
03:24it kind of will amount up to 2 million tons.
03:28We can definitely talk about save natural gas that are measured in millions of cubic meters of gas that we have.
03:36This is a very significant amount.
03:38It will be used differently.
03:40It could be used domestically or it could become part of our export mix that we are currently realizing.
03:48Recently, OPEC at their ninth seminar talked about there being no end of demand for oil anytime soon,
03:54certainly not ahead of 2050.
03:56And they point to an investment of more than $18 trillion being needed before that time.
04:02Does that mean that you in Azerbaijan and with these plants are continuing to invest in hydrocarbons,
04:08but also in the renewable side of things?
04:10I mean, Azerbaijan currently has the presidency of COP29 as well.
04:16And what matters, and as COP29 presidency, we have been pursuing this goal,
04:21the scientific community and the best available science tells us that we need to reach net zero by 2050.
04:27That's our best shot, really.
04:28It does not mean that by 2050, all hydrocarbons will be out of the sea.
04:37What we have been observing in Azerbaijan is that it is increasingly becoming a natural gas country.
04:44And natural gas is important in two regards.
04:47Natural gas is the least polluting of all fossil fuels out there.
04:52And second, natural gas, and we are back to November 8th power plant, is really important for those responsive power plants.
05:02Because those resilient power plants are usually not called fired power plants.
05:07So natural gas fired power plants are really good in terms of integrating more and more renewable energy.
05:13So in that sense, I really commend also as part of the COP29 team that Azerbaijan's pushed for more natural gas.
05:20Because especially in the European continent, as you know, there are a lot of countries that use coal.
05:25And if our gas is replacing that coal, in fact, in that sense, it's actually contributing to decarbonization.
05:33And in case our gas production will increase considerably, that will happen only if European Commission, with whom we signed a deal in 2022, is going to be supporting this process.
05:45Speaking of November 8th power plant, your turbines are hydrogen ready.
05:50But what is the roadmap?
05:51What is the timeline for integration?
05:53They will be able to use up to 40% hydrogen.
05:56And we already worked the hydrogen strategy with EBRD.
06:03But to be honest with you, hydrogen is very expensive, especially green hydrogen.
06:08Clean hydrogen is very expensive.
06:10What we think, and the way we started to think about hydrogen, is really related to immense offshore wind resources that we have in the Caspian Sea.
06:19Because if we want to develop those wind resources at scale, we are going to need some storage capacity.
06:27And I think in several months' time, we will start this implementation plan with EBRD.
06:32That way, we will have a clearer picture on how exactly we are going to be implementing this.
06:37In terms of the regulations, the policies, and indeed the infrastructure which you have referenced,
06:43what else needs to be put in place to make sure that hydrogen is firmly integrated into the energy mix?
06:49I think the first question is really technology.
06:53We need to have these mature technologies because electrolyzers that especially we use for green hydrogen,
07:03we don't have them at scale.
07:04But first and foremost, although I'm saying this last, it's about economics.
07:09It's about the cost of production of green or clean or low carbon hydrogen and how and who will eventually pay for that.
07:17Because when you blend hydrogen for electricity production, you are increasing the cost of production.
07:23Again, back to November, 8th of November power plant, our state spent several hundred million dollars for this project.
07:33But eventually, this will help our economy, but also help our climate goals.
07:39We have to leave our conversation there, but it's been a pleasure.
07:41Thank you so much for your time.
07:43The pleasure is mine.
07:44Thank you.
07:44Thank you.
07:45Well, that's all that we have time for in this episode of Energy Frontiers.
07:49But join me again next time from our studio in Baku, Azerbaijan.
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