BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 27
By Fidan Babayeva - Trend:
The interest of foreign and local investors in the field of electric power engineering, including renewable energy sources, in Azerbaijan, is growing, Trend reports citing the joint statement of the Ministries of Economy and Energy.
According to the statement, one of the important directions of the tasks determined by the Order of the President of Azerbaijan ‘On accelerating reforms in the energy sector of the Republic of Azerbaijan’ dated May 29, 2019, is to take necessary measures to attract private investments in the field of electric power engineering.
“The long-term development strategy of the energy sector, which covers the period until 2050, prepared by the Ministry of Energy, is based on the development model for private investment,” noted the statement.
As the ministries further pointed out, Azerbaijan is one of the countries that have rich renewable energy sources. In order to ensure efficient use of solar and wind energy potential, it was aimed to increase the share of renewable energy sources in electricity production to 30 percent in the next 9 years.
“In this regard, by 2030, it’s planned to put into use about 1500 MW of new installed capacity, and to fulfill this task at the expense of private investments,” the ministries said.
It was also noted that the existence of a legislative framework meeting international requirements is one of the main conditions that investors are interested in.
“In pursuance of the above-mentioned order, the law ‘On the use of renewable energy sources in the production of electricity’ was drafted and pending approval by the relevant bodies. After the adoption of the law, together with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the implementation of small-scale projects in the field of energy resources through private investment will begin,” the statement emphasized.
“At the same time, pilot projects are being implemented in this area. On December 29 last year, agreements were signed on the construction of a 240 MW wind power plant with the ‘ACWA POWER’ company from Saudi Arabia. It’s planned to invest $300 million for the implementation of the project and to produce about 1 billion kWh of electricity per year,” added the statement. “As a result of this project, 200 million cubic meters of gas will be saved per year, and the volume of emissions will be reduced by approximately 400,000 tons per year. The project will also contribute to the establishment of modern production and service areas and the creation of new jobs.”
As reported, in January 2020, an implementation agreement on the construction of a solar power plant was signed with Masdar company from the UAE. Currently, discussions with the company are continuing and it’s expected to sign other agreements in March.
According to the instructions of Azerbaijan’s president, discussions are also being held with investors to attract private investment in order to use renewable energy sources to create a green energy zone in the liberated territories.
At the same time, work is underway to attract private investment in the field of electricity generation from traditional energy resources.
The adoption of the draft law ‘On Electric power engineering’ based on modern approaches will ensure the formation of a competitive environment in this area.
Investments are planned to be attracted both by the privatization of existing plants and the construction of new private power plants. The ministries have already prepared offers on the privatization of some power plants of small capacity. At the same time, the ministries continue negotiations with investment companies for the construction of a new gas-turbine power plant, and many international companies expressed their interest in participating in the project, summed up the statement.
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