BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec. 29
By Fidan Babayeva - Trend:
After the signing of an agreement on the project related to a 240 megawatt wind farm, cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is entering a new stage, Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said.
Shahbazov made the remark at the signing ceremony of the "Investment Agreement", "Energy Purchase and Sale Agreement" and "Agreement on Connection to the Transmission Grid" on the 240 MW wind farm project held between the Azerbaijani Ministry of Energy and Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power company, as well as between Acwa Power company and Azerbaijan’s Azerenergy OJSC, Trend reports.
“The pilot projects on the construction of a wind farm with a capacity of 240 megawatts have been implemented with ACWA Power company so far,” the minister added.
"The volume of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere in Azerbaijan is planned to be reduced by 35 percent till 2030,” the minister added. “The documents signed today on the wind farm project are an important step in achieving the goal of reducing emissions."
Shahbazov stressed that today the Azerbaijani Ministry of Energy cooperates with 10 companies in the development of alternative energy.
"Azerbaijan is one of the leading energy centers in the region, attaching great importance to the development of the use of alternative energy,” the minister added. “We are building new stations for the extraction of renewable energy sources, developing ways to reduce the cost of alternative energy. We are ready to cooperate with other companies of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the future in the field of renewable energy sources."
The use of renewable energy sources was determined by the president as one of the priority spheres for the development of the energy sector.
Thus, the special attention is paid to the implementation of pilot projects on the construction of a wind farm with a capacity of 240 megawatts and a solar power plant with a capacity of 200 megawatts in accordance with agreements signed with ACWA Power company and UAE’s Masdar company on January 9, 2020.
Seven working groups, consisting of representatives of the Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Emergency Situations, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, Ministry of Justice, as well as the Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture, the State Service on Property Affairs, the State Tax Service, Central Bank of Azerbaijan, Azerenergy OJSC and Azerishig OJSC operate to fulfill the relevant order of the Azerbaijani president.
Presently, Azerbaijan is taking consistent steps to develop alternative energy. For this purpose, the negotiations are underway with foreign companies and investors, including the companies from China, the UAE, the US and the EU.
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