Hungarian vitality specialists are unconvinced by the inexperienced and safety guarantees of a brand new Brussels-backed electrical energy cable mission with Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan agreed Saturday to provide the European Union with electrical energy through a subsea cable working by means of Georgia and Romania to Hungary, inking a deal in Bucharest because the bloc diversifies vitality provide away from Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We are going to construct the world’s longest undersea electrical energy transmission line, bringing low-cost, inexperienced vitality to Hungary,” Orbán posted on Fb, describing the mission as an “vitality megadeal”.
In accordance with Hungarian International Affairs and Commerce minister Péter Szijjártó, the deal foresees the creation of 3-gigawatt energy with a 1,195-kilometre subsea part working inexperienced electrical energy from wind energy generated in Azerbaijan, for which Baku is at present in search of buyers.
The minister stated the World Financial institution will cowl a €2.5 million feasibility research to be accomplished by the top of 2023, whereas the European Fee has earmarked €2.3 billion for the mission that ought to “in precept be prepared” after one other three to 4 years.
“The renewables aren’t solely good for our planet, however they’re additionally home-grown, create good jobs at house, independence and safety of vitality provide,” European Fee President Ursula Von der Leyen stated in the course of the signing of the memorandum of understanding in Bucharest.
This mission “will assist reinforce our safety of provide by bringing electrical energy from renewable sources to the European Union, through Romania and thru Hungary,” the EU govt chief added.
Nevertheless, Hungarian specialists stay sceptical in regards to the mission, EURACTIV’s media associate Telex reported.
Moreover human rights issues and claims such sums could possibly be higher spent on vitality manufacturing nearer to house, Telex sources are anxious the facility line would lower Russian dependence for Azeri dependence, and thus doubtlessly extreme Turkish affect in a area liable to native conflicts.
Furthermore, specialists are anxious that because the EU is stepping up fuel imports from Azerbaijan, importing electrical energy might additionally end in over-dependence slightly than diversification.
Moreover, József Turai, Managing Director of T-Power Consulting Ltd, instructed Telex he does not likely imagine that electrical energy produced in Azerbaijan and Georgia could possibly be actually inexperienced regardless of guarantees of wind investments.
Based mostly on 2021 figures, renewables account for lower than 5% of Azerbaijan’s electrical energy era.
In Georgia, the share of renewables, primarily from hydropower, within the whole electrical energy era combine is 75%. Nevertheless, final 12 months the vitality generated by home energy crops was 12.6 TWh whereas consumption was 13.1 TWh, which means Tbilisi is a internet importer of electrical energy.
Furthermore, getting this quantity of electrical energy as soon as the cable emerges in Romania to Hungary would probably require a brand new transmission interconnection between two EU member states to be licensed and built-in into the ENTSO-E system, the European affiliation for the cooperation of transmission system operators for electrical energy, in response to Turai.
It is because within the EU’s regionally coupled electrical energy market, there isn’t a long-term capability reservation, solely short-term algorithmic allocation, and it will not be potential to bodily reallocate the already scarce transmission capability of the present transmission line between Romania and Hungary.
The EU has more and more stepped up its vitality cooperation with strongman-led Azerbaijan within the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Nevertheless, sceptics warn it comes at a price: elevated reliance on a rustic engaged in a battle and with a current historical past of bribery and corruption in Europe.
