Turkey, Azerbaijan push 'electricity TANAP' corridor to supply Europe

Turkey and Azerbaijan are accelerating plans to create a major green energy export route to Europe, dubbing the multi-nation power initiative an "electricity TANAP", Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Friday.

The planned corridor is designed to transmit renewable power from Azerbaijan across Georgia and Turkey into Bulgaria, mimicking the Southern Gas Corridor’s Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) route that transports Caspian natural gas to European markets.

"This is an 'electricity TANAP' on a regional scale," Bayraktar told the Azerbaijan–Turkey Energy Forum in Baku. "We do not view this merely as infrastructure, but as a strategic step that lays the foundation for long-term regional energy cooperation."

Bayraktar said the participating governments aim to finalize an intergovernmental agreement for the terrestrial electricity corridor during the United Nations COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Turkey.

Both countries are seeking to leverage their strategic geographic positions and existing energy alliances to become key exporters of green electricity as European nations diversify power supplies and accelerate decarbonization targets.

Bayraktar added that technical agencies have completed initial engineering assessments for a separate cross-border power interconnector linking Turkey with Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave, establishing an optimal route ahead of final feasibility studies by grid operators.

Turkey, which is targeting a 35% electrification rate across its domestic economy by 2035, is working with Baku to build on clean energy frameworks established during Azerbaijan's COP29 presidency.

On Thursday, Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said Baku also plans to connect Central Asian power grids with Turkey via the Zangazur transport corridor, while inviting Ankara to participate in a planned subsea Black Sea cable to southeastern Europe.