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Elnur Enveroglu

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In the presence of President Ilham Aliyev, UAE company Masdar signed three investment agreements on two solar projects and one dry wind project with a total capacity of 1 gigawatt (GW) in Azerbaijan.

“Today's project is the first among many to come. As I said, three investment agreements will be signed today, but our plans are much broader. We plan to work together to produce in phases up to 10 gigawatts of renewables,” said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev as he addressed an official inauguration of the 230 MW Garadagh Solar PV Plant.

Pointing out that this will be a total revolution in the energy development of the region, the President noted that Azerbaijan is a country where the first oil in the world was produced in the middle of the 19th century.

“And now, having in mind that still we are rich in fossil fuel resources, we are moving towards a green agenda. This is a deliberate choice. This is our contribution not only to the future development of Azerbaijan, but to the issues related to climate change,” the President of Azerbaijan underlined.

The Garadagh Solar Power Plant, with a capacity of 230 megawatts, is expected to annually produce half a billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in Azerbaijan and provide power to more than 110,000 homes.

The Garadagh Solar Power Plant is the largest project in the Central Asian region and was co-financed by the Abu Dhabi Development Fund, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

CEO Mohamed Jamil Al Ramahi said in an interview last month that Masdar plans to double capacity this year as it aims to reach 100 gigawatts of total capacity by the end of the decade. The target of 100 gigawatts by 2030 is based on the total capacity of projects Masdar will be involved in by then.

Furthermore, a ceremony for signing documents between the Government of Azerbaijan and Masdar company of the United Arab Emirates has been held with the participation of President Ilham Aliyev.

Azerbaijan`s Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov, Azerbaijan`s Minister of Economy, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of SOCAR Mikayil Jabbarov and Chief Executive Officer of Masdar company of the United Arab Emirates Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi signed “Investment Agreement relating to Banka settlement of Neftchala district Solar PV Project in the Republic of Azerbaijan between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company – Masdar”, “Investment Agreement relating to Bilasuvar district Solar PV Project in the Republic of Azerbaijan between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company – Masdar”, and “Investment Agreement relating to the Absheron-Garadagh region Onshore Wind Project in the Republic of Azerbaijan between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company – Masdar”.

Masdar, a company from Abu Dhabi that works with clean energy, has started building a solar power plant in Azerbaijan. This plant will cost $200 million and will be able to produce 230 megawatts of electricity. This is the first time a foreign company has invested in a solar power project in Azerbaijan.

The plant is expected to be finished in 2023 and will be able to provide electricity to more than 110,000 households.

Masdar has also signed four agreements to help Azerbaijan increase its renewable energy sources. This will help the country reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and become more sustainable.

It should be noted that Azerbaijan, which is named among the countries with a huge economy, is also determined to gain greater achievements in the field of Renewable Energy.

Thus, the technical potential of our country's onshore renewable energy sources is 135 GW and offshore is 157 GW. The economic potential of renewable energy sources is estimated at 27 GW, including 3 000 MW of wind energy, 23 000 MW of solar energy, 380 MW of bioenergy potential, and 520 MW of mountain rivers.

Azerbaijan, whose economic income once depended on the oil and gas sector, today chooses a more sustainable pace of development and tries to establish the direction of development in the energy sector in harmony with nature.

Today, as renewable energy is more environmentally friendly, many countries around the world are coming together in this field. It also means that the old era is over and the world is thinking of more efficient means of energy production and consumption. In this regard, Azerbaijan has vast green energy resources both on land and in the sea.

In particular, the liberation of Garabagh from occupation opened up new opportunities for Azerbaijan in terms of energy production.
In a nutshell, Azerbaijan is already envisioning a new era in increasing renewable energy potential.

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Elnur Enveroglu is AzerNews’ Deputy Editor-in-Chief, follow him on @ElnurMammadli1

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