Cross-border Electricity Exchanges: Bolstering Economic Growth in the South Caucasus and Turkey

Issue Brief (Atlantic Council-Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center) October 2013

By Nino Ghvinadze and Laura Linderman *

This brief examines the planned South Caucasus energy transit corridor meant to carry Azerbaijani oil and natural gas to Europe bypassing Russia and Iran. The authors argue that the expansion of cross-border electricity trade through this corridor will significantly contribute to Georgia’s economic growth, help Turkey meet its rapidly increasing electricity needs, and assist European Union member states in meeting their renewable energy quotas.

* Nino Ghvinadze is 2012 Edmund S. Muskie Fellow at the University of Kentucky Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce. Laura Linderman is the associate director of the Atlantic Council Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center.

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