The Greater Caspian Region faces a rising demand for electricity from industrial, commercial, and individual consumers. Unreliable electrical supplies inhibit robust economic growth and present further challenges when attracting foreign direct investment. The need to improve energy infrastructure by incorporating renewables to ensure that private consumers and industries have reliable electricity for development is essential. The Caspian region has tremendous wind, solar, and hydropower potential that should be harnessed to meet these countries’ growing electricity needs. Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan possess large amounts of untapped renewable energy resources that would sufficiently meet growing electricity demands. Including renewables in infrastructure and energy discussions will be crucial to ensuring energy security and stability in a region long defined by its hydrocarbon wealth.

The Caspian Policy Center will convene experts from the renewables sector and financial institutions operating in the Caspian region to discuss the ways they can harness their vast hydro, solar, and wind, power potential. The discussion will cover the potential for renewable energy in these four Caspian countries and what still needs to be done to attain national renewable energy goals. This event is held in conjunction with the release of the Caspian Policy Center’s Policy Brief, “The Considerable Potential for Renewable Energy in the Caspian Region” that explores renewable power as a vital part of the Caspian’s future energy and infrastructure plans.

•  09:00 – 09:05   Welcome remarks – Efgan Nifti, Chief Executive Officer, Caspian Policy Center
•  09:05 – 09:25    Opening Statements

Moderator:

• Robert F. Ichord Jr. Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council; Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Transformation, Energy Resources Bureau, U.S. Department of State

Participants:

• Ambassador (Ret.) Robert F. Cekuta, Economy and Energy Program Chair, Caspian Policy Center
• Dante Schulz, Caspian Policy Center
• Steven Burns, Chief of Energy and Infrastructure at the USAID Europe and Eurasia Division
• Zhandos Temirgali, Advisor to the Chairman of Kazakh Invest

•  9:25- 09:55     Discussion and Q&A
•  09:55 – 10:00   Closing remarks