Energy Minister proposes establishing ‘mega grid’

ANKARA

Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has urged member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to work together to establish a “mega grid.”

Bayraktar, who addressed the gathering of SCO energy ministers via videoconference, suggested that SCO member states could join forces for this project.

Türkiye is already working to increase the interconnection capacities of the region with its neighbors Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Bulgaria and Greece, said Bayraktar.

“I propose to establish a technical working group under the umbrella of SCO to work on this mega-grid. Our goal should be to create regionally unified markets which efficiently use resources across regions and efficiently transmit electricity between countries,” the minister added.

If the member countries approve, Türkiye would like to host the first technical meeting of this working group next fall or in the spring of 2025, according to Bayraktar.

All SCO countries can work together to build a well-integrated mega-grid as well as a comprehensive electric vehicle charging network, Bayraktar said,

“A larger potential and synergies for joint infrastructure projects can be created if intergovernmental cooperation is expanded,” he added.

The minister also said that SCO member countries, including Turkey, have invested in energy conversion technologies and that here is a great potential to further develop this sector through international cooperation and appeal to more markets globally.