As the Black Sea Power Line project progresses, there may be growing interest in investing in the Caspian submarine cable and the energy infrastructure of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Europe is highly interested in diversifying its energy supplies and in importing electricity, even from such great distances. The problem is that EU countries, having set the ambitious goal of phasing out fossil fuels within ten years, do not have the capacity to achieve this goal on their own. Typically, European countries are small in area and have high population densities, while solar and wind power plants require large spaces. Compensating for the lack of space for large solar power plants with innovations would be even more costly, hence the EU is forced to import.
Unlike crowded Europe, Central Asia and Azerbaijan have all the conditions necessary for the development of green energy. Additionally, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan can play a significant role in the mining of critical raw materials used in the production of solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries. These include lithium, cobalt, copper, nickel, silver and others. For instance, demand for lithium is growing globally, with its price having increased by more than 400% in recent years. Central Asia contains large deposits of many types of critical raw materials. For example, Kazakhstan currently produces 19 of the 34 types of raw materials listed as “critical” by the EU.
In summary, the region is attractive both for its renewable energy potential and for its capabilities in raw material extraction and equipment production for green energy generation. It seems likely that Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan will fully capitalise on these advantages.
