Record result: how Mingachevir became the energy center of the entire South Caucasus

On June 24, with the participation of President Ilham Aliyev, the opening ceremony of the country's largest power plant "November 8" took place, thereby confirming the city of Mingachevir as the energy center not only of Azerbaijan but also of the entire South Caucasus.

Back on October 25, 2022, by decree of President Ilham Aliyev, in order to ensure energy sustainability, meet growing demand, create additional generating capacities, as well as increase export opportunities, save natural gas and protect the environment, a decision was made to build the largest power plant of the independence period on the territory of the "Azerbaijan" thermal power plant in the city of Mingachevir.

The project was developed based on proposals from professional Azerbaijani engineers. Influential global energy companies and independent technical experts were involved in the implementation of the "November 8" power plant, named in honor of our Great Victory in the Karabakh War, writes the newspaper "Caspian".

Record result

"In general, the creation of this station, which will significantly strengthen the energy potential of Azerbaijan, and the completion of all work in a short time demonstrates the power, potential of our country, the experience and professionalism of our energy specialists," the President said in his speech at the opening of the power plant, adding that all the work done once again shows that Azerbaijan is on the right path.

However, Mingachevir has always played a central role in Azerbaijan's energy sector. Thus, in 1974, on the initiative and under the direct leadership of the great leader Heydar Aliyev, the foundation of the "Azerbaijan" thermal power plant was laid in Mingachevir, the first unit of which was commissioned in 1981. Subsequently, with the launch of other units, this station became one of the most important energy centers of the Caucasus even during the Soviet period.

Today, the generation capacity of the "Azerbaijan" power plant is 1,800 MW, the capacity of the "November 8" station is 1,880 MW, and the capacity of the hydroelectric power plant is more than 400 MW, which in total accounts for more than 40% of the electricity generated throughout Azerbaijan.

Moreover, this project was implemented in a very short time - two years. That is, during this time, Azerbaijan received approximately 2 thousand MW of energy. This was, of course, facilitated by the existing energy base, knowledge and experience of Azerbaijani energy specialists. Italian and Chinese companies, which are strategic partners of Azerbaijan, made a great contribution to the construction of the "November 8" station.

And if Italy is Azerbaijan's number one trading partner, then China, in turn, occupies a leading position among our country's trading partners. Several years ago, Azerbaijan began long-term strategic cooperation with Italy in the energy sector, in the field of crude oil and natural gas. As for China, the implementation of projects related to renewable energy has recently begun. Supplies for the new solar power plants being created in Azerbaijan today are largely provided by Chinese companies.

Exemplary project

President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly stated that energy is a matter of national security for any state. Given that Azerbaijan today is among the countries ensuring Europe's energy security, we can without hesitation call ourselves a reliable partner and pan-European gas supplier. Azerbaijani gas is currently exported via pipelines to 12 countries worldwide, 10 of which are European, the President said, emphasizing that many of them ensure their energy security using