BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7
Trend:
I am sure that the share of renewable energy in our total generating capacity will and should gradually increase, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in his closing speech at the conference dedicated to the results of first year implementation of "The State Program on socio-economic development of the regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2019-2023", Trend reports.
“Certain issues arose in 2020, quite recently, and resources are required to resolve them,” said Ilham Aliyev. “The State Investment Program has been approved. It is quite extensive. At the same time, there are some reserves because issues emerge during the year that also need to be resolved.”
“And now I would like to dwell on the key upcoming issues and projects, so that the program and the development of our country as a whole are ensured this year as well,” the Azerbaijani president noted. “First of all, I would like to start with infrastructure projects, despite the fact that great success has been achieved in this area and most of the issues have been resolved. However, life does not stop. The needs, population and the industrial potential of our country are growing, new enterprises are being commissioned. Therefore, the implementation of infrastructure projects should continue to be ensured.”
“In my opening remarks, I provided some data regarding the production of electricity,” Ilham Aliyev said. “I want to add that an important event took place in January this year. Two major foreign investors signed a protocol of intent with Azerbaijan on the production of renewable energy. This is actually called an executive agreement, and more detailed work will be carried out on these contracts over the course of the year, for several months. I am sure that relevant contracts will be signed by the end of this year.”
“This issue is very important because it is renewable energy that will be produced exclusively with foreign investment,” the Azerbaijani president noted. “Of course, as I noted in my opening remarks, if our credit rating were not high and if Azerbaijan were not among top 20 most reforming countries in terms of the business environment, foreign investors would not invest here.”
“When meeting with the executives of these major companies, I was also convinced that the key reason behind this decision was, first of all, the stability and calm prevailing in our country and investors’ faith in the long-term development of Azerbaijan,” added Ilham Aliyev. “These are very large projects. Two power plants will be built – wind and solar. Their total generating capacity is at 440 megawatts – very large stations. About $400 million of foreign investments are envisaged. Therefore, I am sure that other investors will also show interest after this. I can say that we received proposals from nine leading companies in the world for the implementation of this project.”
“Work is already under way on an individual basis and with companies that, if I may say so, have remained on the sidelines,” the Azerbaijani president said. “New proposals are being prepared for them. I am sure that the share of renewable energy in our total generating capacity will and should gradually increase.”
“In parallel, “AzerEnergy” will begin the construction of a large new power station with a generating capacity of about 350-400 megawatts,” noted Ilham Aliyev. “There is a need for this because, as I have already noted, our export opportunities are expanding and domestic needs will gradually grow. So domestic consumption must be always taken into account. We now have about 1,000 megawatts of generating capacity that is not used in the country. A significant part of that is exported.”
““AzerEnergy” should also begin the construction of a new wind farm,” the Azerbaijani president said. “A station with a capacity of 50 megawatts was commissioned recently. The generating capacity of the second station is 84 megawatts. And this is another manifestation of renewable energy in Azerbaijan. Several countries of the world, especially those not rich in natural resources, are implementing similar projects now. Our policy is this: despite the fact that we have both oil and gas, we must use renewable energy in order to ensure their economical use and exports, especially since we have ample sun and wind.”
“At the same time, construction and restoration work will be carried out at the other three blocks of the Mingachevir Thermal Power Plant,” Ilham Aliyev noted. “Five blocks have already been repaired, which means an additional about 400 megawatts of generating capacity. Therefore, in the next two to three years we will significantly increase our energy capacity. At the same time, of course, issues of installing transformers, launching new substations and updating power lines are also on the agenda.”
“As for gasification, as I have already noted, although we have reached 96 percent, the state investment program provides for the allocation of 130 million manats from the state budget of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan for gasification,” said the Azerbaijani president. “Using these funds, many villages that are not receiving gas today will have gas supply.”