BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 6. A project of floating solar power plant with a capacity of 100 kW (95 kW offshore, 5 kW onshore) is already operating, Elnur Soltanov, Deputy Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan told Trend.
"This is a part of technical support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), so we are not investing anything. The aim of this pilot project is to indicate pros and cons for the expansion of this initiative to 50 MW," he explained.
According to the deputy minister, there are many technical challenges for the carrying out projects of this type.
"Floating solar is also a little bit more expensive than onshore. But, again, we are moving forward, and we are grateful for our cooperation with the ADB, which will pave the way for larger projects of this kind," he added.
Meanwhile, the pilot project is implemented as part of the "Knowledge exchange and technical support for the development of floating solar panels" with support of the ADB.
According to the Ministry of Energy, the production of renewable energy exceeded 1.9 kWh of energy in Azerbaijan in 2022. Energy production at hydroelectric power plants exceeded 27.043 billion kWh in 2022. Some 1.596 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable electricity produced in the reporting period of 2022 accounted for hydropower plants, 83.3 million kilowatt-hours - for wind power plants, 60.9 million kilowatt-hours - for solar power plants, and 205.3 million kilowatt-hours - for the solid waste incineration plant.