IN Brief:
- Turkey is working with Azerbaijan, Georgia, Bulgaria, and south-east European countries on a proposed green electricity corridor.
- The corridor would support cross-border electricity trading between the Caspian region, Turkey, and European markets.
- Turkey is planning around $30bn of transmission and distribution upgrades over the next decade.
Turkey’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources is advancing plans for a green electricity corridor linking Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, and south-east European power markets.
Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar outlined the proposal at Baku Energy Week, positioning the corridor as a route for green electricity trade between the Caspian region and Europe. The concept would build on Turkey and Azerbaijan’s existing energy relationship, which has historically centred on oil and gas infrastructure.
The proposed route would connect Azerbaijan and Georgia with Turkey, then link onwards into Bulgaria and south-east European electricity markets. Turkey has described the project as an electricity equivalent of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline, with the focus shifting from fuel transport to cross-border power transmission.
Alongside the corridor plan, Turkey is preparing around $30bn of investment in its electricity transmission and distribution system over the next decade. The upgrade programme is intended to accommodate higher renewable energy output, new nuclear generation, and expanded cross-border trade.
Turkey’s geography gives the proposal a wider infrastructure role. The country sits between the Caspian region, the Black Sea, the Middle East, and south-east Europe, making it a potential bridge between renewable generation zones and European demand centres. Electricity corridors of this kind depend on far more than route alignment, however; capacity, voltage control, market coupling, interconnector arrangements, system balancing, and regulatory coordination all shape whether power can move reliably across borders.
Renewable electricity trade is becoming more important as solar and wind capacity grow unevenly across neighbouring markets. Countries with strong renewable resource potential may generate surplus electricity at times when domestic demand is limited, while importing markets need flexible capacity to manage demand peaks, fuel displacement, or security-of-supply risks. A cross-border corridor can create value only where the electrical and market systems are able to handle those flows.
The wider European context is already moving in that direction. Renewable and battery pipelines across Europe are expanding as developers respond to congestion, curtailment, and negative pricing. Stronger interconnection can reduce the isolation of renewable output, although it also requires coordinated planning between transmission operators, regulators, and national energy ministries.
South-east Europe is likely to become a more active part of that system. Bulgaria’s position within the European Union gives it relevance as a point of entry into EU electricity markets, while Georgia and Azerbaijan provide a possible eastern supply route. Turkey’s domestic network would have to act as both transit infrastructure and balancing environment, carrying power while maintaining national system stability.
The proposed corridor also reflects a broader shift in energy security. Oil and gas pipelines once defined much of the strategic infrastructure between the Caspian region and Europe. As electrification advances, transmission lines, interconnectors, substations, HVDC systems, digital controls, and balancing markets are taking on similar geopolitical weight.
Technical design will determine whether the project moves from concept to operational infrastructure. New cross-border capacity must be matched with grid reinforcement, transparent market rules, congestion management, and the ability to manage variable renewable power over long distances. Protection coordination, system operation, and communications will be as important as generation capacity.
The next phase will require detail on route design, capacity, financing, permitting, and operating arrangements. Turkey’s planned domestic grid investment gives the corridor proposal a stronger engineering base, but the project will depend on regional coordination across countries with different market structures, network conditions, and energy-policy priorities.
