How is Azerbaijan’s newest power station driving the country’s energy transition?

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How is Azerbaijan’s newest power station driving the country’s energy transition?  In this episode, we look at Azerbaijan’s 8 November Power Plant, the South Caucasus’s largest gas facility. With hydrogen-ready technology, it’s a major step in the country’s energy transition.  In partnership with Azpromo  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/08/07/how-is-azerbaijans-newest-power-station-driving-the-countrys-energy-transition  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00Azerbaijan's carbon dioxide footprint, actual 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,

00:29the 8th November Power Plant, located 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,

00:39about what this means for regional gas diplomacy and domestic supply.

00:44But first, here's a quick overview of what's in play.

00:47The 8th November Power Plant is a high-efficiency gas facility, the largest of its kind in the South Caucasus.

00:55Powered 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.

01:10Its hydrogen-ready turbines align with Azerbaijan's long-term low-carbon ambitions,

01:16and 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,

01:30and how will its impact be measured in real terms?

01:35I'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?

02:03Thank you for the question.

02:05Capacity matters when we talk about the contribution of this new plant to Azerbaijani,

02:09grid system, economy, and 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.

02:30That means that we are going to be feeling 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.

02:42Second, 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?

03:10In the best of all possible worlds, the 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.

03:27We can definitely talk about safe 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,

03:54and certainly not ahead of 2050, and they point to an investment of more than 18 trillion dollars 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.

04:15And what matters, and as COP29 presidents, 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.

04:30It 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,

04:57is 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,

05:40with 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? What is the timeline for integration?

05:53They will be able to use up to 40% hydrogen.

05:57And 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,

06:13is 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 real technology.

06:53We need to have these mature technologies.

06:57Because electrolyzers that especially we use for green hydrogen, we 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 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.

07:41But it's been a pleasure.

07:41Thank you so much for your time.

07:43The pleasure is mine.

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.

07:52I'll see you then.

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