BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 23. The share of renewables in total energy generation in Azerbaijan may rise to 15-35 percent by 2030, Trend reports via the CAREC Energy Outlook 2030, prepared by the experts of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
"Historically, the electricity mix in Azerbaijan has been dominated by natural gas, which constituted 93 percent of the total in 2020. This trend will continue until 2030 across all scenarios (with a 63-85 percent share of the total power generation mix)," the report said.
However, as the report noted, the share of renewable energy is forecast to grow at pace that differs, according to various scenarios.
Thus, hydropower is expected to increase at a consistent rate until 2030 across all scenarios, constituting 7-8 percent of the total power mix.
Although, by 2030, wind and solar are projected to grow by up to 5 percent and 3 percent under the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, 16 percent and 8 percent - under the Government Commitments scenario, and 19 percent and 10 percent - under the Green Growth scenario.
With introduction of additional energy efficiency measures, final energy demand is decreasing, resulting in a projected total demand of 13.3-11.9 million tons of oil equivalent in 2030, depending on the scenario, the report added.
Meanwhile, the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program (CAREC) was established in 1997 by the ADB to encourage economic cooperation among countries in Central Asia and nearby parts of Transcaucasia and South Asia.