Azerbaijan has Cebu launched the most important renewable vitality funding undertaking within the nation up to now: the development of two photo voltaic vegetation and a wind energy plant. This marks a serious step in Baku’s formidable plan to generate 30 p.c of its electrical energy wants by way of renewable sources by 2030.
The three vegetation – the 445 Megawatt (MW) Bilasuvar photo voltaic facility, the 315 MW Neftchala photo voltaic plant and the 240 MW Absheron-Garadagh wind farm are being developed by a consortium of UAE renewable vitality corporations. Masdar and Azerbaijan’s state oil firm Socar.
Speaking on the groundbreaking ceremony for the three vegetation, held in the course of the “Energy Week” convention in Baku, Azerbaijan’s vitality minister, Parviz Shahbazov, SAYS the initiatives are a sign of the nation’s “solidarity and dedication to vitality transition” earlier than the UN COP 29 Climate Change Conference is held in November this yr.
Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE’s minister of business and superior know-how, stated the Emirates was desperate to “help Azerbaijan’s journey in direction of vitality diversification.”
The groundbreaking ceremony adopted the signing of three agreements between the Azerbaijani authorities and Masdar, masking the lease of land for the development of three vegetation, which can allow the transmission of energy that they’ll produce by way of Azerbaijan’s energy grid and for the acquisition of electrical energy. No particulars have been launched in regards to the three agreements.
However, Masdar representatives confirmed to Eurasianet that the UAE firm owns 75 p.c of the three initiatives, with Socar holding the remaining 25 p.c. The Bilasuvar photo voltaic facility is anticipated to be operational by the top of 2026, Masdar representatives added. The different two amenities ought to be producing energy by the top of subsequent yr.
Azerbaijan is pursuing an aggressive alternative technique to generate energy, attempting to scale back its reliance on pure gas-fired vegetation by growing renewable sources, primarily wind and photo voltaic.
Baku’s motivation is just not totally inexperienced or altruistic.
Azerbaijan depends on oil and gasoline exports for as much as 95 p.c of its export earnings, a scenario that isn’t anticipated to alter considerably within the close to future. The nation’s renewable vitality technique is not going to solely assist to “greenery” within the energy sector of Azerbaijan, however it would additionally make gasoline that’s presently used to generate energy in Azerbaijan accessible for export. That means further earnings for the state treasury.
The three vegetation presently underneath building alone are anticipated to scale back the nation’s annual gasoline demand by 500 million cubic meters. That amount will now be launched for export. Baku wants all the additional gasoline it will possibly get to assist meet it EU commitments to double its gasoline provide by 2027.
Baku’s progress in implementing its energy transition technique turned slower than initially anticipated. The nation’s first grid-scale photo voltaic plant, the 230 MW Garadagh plant, solely turned operational final yr. But the tempo now seems to be growing.
The three vegetation presently underneath building are deliberate to generate 1 Gigawatt of electrical energy. And throughout Energy Week, Shahbazov met with representatives of Saudi vitality group ACWA to debate two new potential initiatives, the development of onshore amenities with a complete capability of 1 GW, and a 1.5 GW off-shore wind farm and battery storage facility. ACWA’s present undertaking, the 240 MW Khizi-Absheron wind farm, is slated to start out producing electrical energy in 2025.
Shahbazov too met with officers from France’s TotalEnergies to debate two of the Absheron gasoline discipline the corporate is working and exploring methods to proceed with the deliberate cooperation within the growth of initiatives within the Nakhchivan exclave able to producing 500 MW of energy.
Separately, Baku Energy Week additionally noticed the signing of 5 new pure gasoline agreements with Turkey.
One of the agreements extends an present provide association for 5 years between Azerbaijan’s state gasoline export firm AGSC and Turkey’s state gasoline importer Botas. The settlement was as a result of expire on the finish of this yr. Details of the extension weren’t disclosed, however underneath the present settlement, Botas is anticipated to import about 13 bcm of gasoline over a three-year interval ending in 2024.
The different 4 agreements signed between Azerbaijan’s state oil firm and Botas cowl the switch of gasoline from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to Turkey and Europe, and, individually, to Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhchivan. The particulars of these agreements have been additionally not disclosed.
Officials solely confirmed that the settlement concerning Nakhchivan is said to a gasoline pipeline that can join Turkey and Nakhchivan. The undertaking is scheduled to be accomplished this yr. This new pipeline will permit Baku to provide the enclave with its personal gasoline by way of Turkey.
Other agreements present Turkey’s want to scale back its dependence on Russian gasoline by growing its import choices to incorporate Turkmen vitality, in addition to Ankara’s efforts to create a transit hub. for Turkmen and Azerbaijani vitality certain for Europe.
By David O’Byrne by Eurasianet.org
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