WB: Azerbaijan's strategy to move away from oil, gas dependence - major step forward

Azerbaijan is moving in the right direction with its reforms and is seeking ways to more effectively utilize markets, particularly in the electricity sector – transmission, distribution, and generation, World Bank Senior Energy Specialist Florian Kitt said in Baku at the Azerbaijan & Central Asia Green Energy Week 2025, Report informs.

He emphasized that this approach is crucial because it is a prerequisite for joining the European Union.

Kitt praised the Azerbaijani government for its dramatic shift toward renewable energy and its completely new vision for the country.

"We are shifting away from the traditional oil and gas sector, which accounts for over 80% of the national economy, to the use of other resources available to Azerbaijan. These include, firstly, wind – both onshore and offshore – and, secondly, solar energy (photovoltaic panels). We are already seeing fairly rapid changes in both areas: the country has solar power plants and a wind farm that supplies energy to the grid. And the government is expanding its vision, considering how to replace its main export commodities, that is, shifting from traditional energy sources to renewable energy," said Kitt.

According to him, the World Bank fully supports this process and is actively negotiating with Azerbaijan, as well as with Georgia and Türkiye, to understand how these countries can enter European export markets.

"I believe the new socioeconomic development strategy is a truly significant step forward. We also want to emphasize that the government has recently realized that the country has additional underground resources where Azerbaijan can apply its oil and gas expertise. This includes hot water-geothermal energy-which can be used both directly (in agriculture and for resorts) and for electricity generation," Kitt added.