Natural gas-rich Turkmenistan wants to join a regional green energy trend. Officials have announced that construction of an energy-efficient power plant on the Caspian shoreline is under way, adding that the facility aims to produce enough electricity to meet domestic needs and export excess power westward.

Turkmen Energy Minister Annageldi Saparov, speaking at an economic forum on November 3, revealed that a combined-cycle power plant with a projected annual generating capacity of almost 1.6 gigawatts is in the works at an unspecified location on the Caspian coast. He said international companies were involved in the project but did not name them.

Combined-cycle plants involve the use of a gas-powered turbine to generate electricity, then turning the residual heat created by that operation into steam, which is used to power a second turbine, thus generating additional electricity. 

“The successful implementation of this project will significantly increase the installed capacity of the Turkmen energy system, improve the energy supply to domestic consumers, and create additional opportunities for electricity exports to the Caucasus countries and Türkiye,” the government-connected Turkmenistan Golden Age news outlet quoted Saparov as saying.

During a November 2 meeting with the head of Turkish energy company Calik Holding, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov said Ashgabat hoped to eventually conclude an agreement with Turkey on electricity exports “across the Caspian Sea,” the official Turkmenistan Today news agency reported. 

The only viable way at present for Turkmenistan to export electricity to Turkey would be for Ashgabat to join the trans-Caspian power line project launched by Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Berdimuhamedov in his November 2 comments did not indicate whether Turkmen participation in the trans-Caspian venture has been raised with project sponsors.

This article first appeared on Eurasianet here.