Azernews.Az

By Sara Israfilbayova

Azerbaijani entrepreneurs are interested in building solar power plants abroad, in particular in Georgia, Afghanistan and the UAE (Dubai).

Deputy Chairman of the State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources Jamil Melikov told Trend that the agency is trying to create conditions for interested Azerbaijani investors to implement projects related to renewable energy, not only in Azerbaijan, but also beyond.

“For our part, we provide them with various kinds of administrative support, for example, we can establish a dialogue with relevant state bodies in these countries, and help with legal issues. I note that today the Azerbaijani businessmen show such an initiative in Georgia, Afghanistan, Dubai,” Melikov said.

According to the most optimistic forecasts, by the middle of this century, we will reach a point where half of the world’s oil reserves will be pumped out.

Humanity needs to switch to other sources of electricity production, not dependent on hydrocarbons. In other words, in the coming decades, it is necessary to actively seek out and use alternative sources of energy.

Traditional sources transform into electric kinetic energy moving water - HPS and thermal energy of fuel - TPS, operating on oil, natural gas and coal. An alternative source of energy replaces traditional sources.

These are the energy of water movement in the oceans and seas, wind, solar radiation, biomass, atom decay, etc. Wind energy is most often used in countries of Western Europe, the U.S., India, and China.

For example, Denmark receives 25 percent of energy as a result of using wind. Solar power stations operate in more than 80 countries.

So, the largest wind farm at the moment is located in the state of California (the U.S.), the total capacity of which is 1550 MW. An interesting fact is that over $100 billion have been invested in the world in 2008 in winds, sun and bioenergy.

The idea of ​​hydrogen energy, the production of electricity in photovoltaic cells located in near-earth orbit or on the Moon is being studied. Electricity will be transmitted to the Earth in the form of microwave radiation.

Of the listed ways of obtaining alternative energy in Azerbaijan, solar and wind energy have started to develop.

Most of the country's potential in this area comes from solar energy, and this potential is estimated at 5,000 megawatts.

The wind energy is 4,500 megawatts, the biomass is 1500 megawatts, the geothermal energy is 800 megawatts, and the remaining 350 megawatts for the potential of small hydroelectric power stations.

The potential of renewable energy sources in Azerbaijan is over 25,300 megawatts, which will generate 62.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. By 2020, it is planned to reach a capacity of 2,676 megawatts, which will be about 20 percent of all electricity produced in the country.

In 2018-2020, the State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources plans to implement 23 projects with a total cost of about 13 million manats ($7.65 million) within the framework of the Strategic Road Map for the development of public services.

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Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is

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