"SMART CITY" PROJECTS IN THE KARABAKH REGION: A MODEL OF GREEN ENERGY AND DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

The projects of the Smart City and the Smart Village introduced to the Karabakh region are one of the primary focuses of the modern urban development policy and sustainable regional planning strategy in Azerbaijan. The announcement of the region is a Green Energy Zone in 2021 has made the development of renewable energy sources a priority and the use of new energy and management systems grounded on digital technologies. Between 2021 and 2025, as part of the process of restoring and modernizing the electricity infrastructure of the Karabakh and East Zangezur economic regions, construction of hydropower, solar, and wind power plants have been conducted on a large scale. The present article will introduce the key renewable energy projects which were launched in the region throughout this period, the capacity they were installed at, as well as how they may be integrated into the energy system in the context of the idea of the smart city. Moreover, the degrees of solar and wind energy opportunities in the area are considered. The role of green energy and digital infrastructure in the creation of the model of the smart city in the Karabakh region and the perspectives of the future development in this direction are discussed, based on statistical data and official sources