Azernews.Az

By Aynur Karimova

Azerbaijan, which completely ensures its gross energy consumption through domestic production, pays significant attention to energy-saving policy.

The South Caucasus nation, by applying energy efficiency experience of leading countries in its own energy system, has achieved great achievements in this regard.

The country has recently ranked the 33^rd in the Global Energy Efficiency Index, sharing the same results with Japan.

Energy efficiency index is a weighted average of the specific consumption index of 10 branches; the weight being the share of each branch in the sum of the energy consumption of these branches in year.

Urkhan Alakbarov, Rector of the Public Administration Academy under the Azerbaijani President, commenting the result, highlighted Azerbaijan's achievements gained over the past years.

He said the country's achievements were reflected in the reports of the international organizations, adding that Azerbaijan's high achievements were proven in the reports of the World Bank and the UN.

Ecologists believe that energy saving measures are 2-5 times more cost-efficient than the construction of new electricity- and heat-generating facilities. They say energy efficiency reduces greenhouse gas emissions, which is beneficial for improving the environmental situation in the country.

Azerbaijan, with its energy saving potential of around 8-10 million tons of fuel equivalent, enjoys potential for growth in energy efficiency primarily in the residential sector, in power generation, and at industrial plants.

Taking this potential into account, the country's Energy Ministry is developing a national program for the efficient use of energy resources.

The Azerbaijani government has set a priority to achieve energy efficiency through decreasing losses in production and sale of energy resources. In this regard, the country eyes cooperating with Japanese companies to increase the reliability of electricity supply and reduce losses in the network.

Azerbaijan's energy efficiency measures are supported by international financial institutions, in particular by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The EBRD earlier backed the preparation of a €165 million investment program to modernize and upgrade AzDRES TPP, the country’s largest thermal power plant (TPP). This project has also applied for carbon credits under the clean development mechanism (CDM) and is expected to reduce annual CO2 emissions by 3 million tons CO2eq.

With the help of its partner banks, the EBRD has launched a credit line in Azerbaijan, meant for Azerbaijani private businesses of all scales and sectors as well as individuals who intend to invest in energy efficiency or renewable energy projects. The credit line is part of the Caucasian Energy Efficiency Program (CEEP).

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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