BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 1
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Azerbaijan should consider providing incentives for small renewable energy suppliers, to encourage entrepreneurship and the establishment of small businesses in the energy sector, Trend reports with reference to the recommendations of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Other recommendations of the IEA for developing the country’s renewable energy sphere are as follows:
Evaluate the economic potential of renewable energy and use the assessment results to design an action plan to take advantage of that potential;
Set renewable energy targets that take account of the cost-effectiveness of all available policy options and of the need for consistency with electricity market reform measures;
Minimise the costs of additional renewable energy capacity through competitive bidding processes and by identifying ways to incorporate long-term PPAs into the competitive electricity market the government plans to introduce;
Take account of the need for renewable energy integration in plans to develop and and upgrade the grid;
Facilitate renewable energy capacity increases by streamlining authorisation and licensing processes as well as project implementation procedures, keeping in mind the case for establishing a single point of contact and for ensuring that grid connection rules do not discourage renewable electricity;
Develop and implement programmes to install solar collectors, batteries and other independent renewable energy technologies in remote parts of the country to ensure cost-effective access to energy in those areas.
“Although Azerbaijan’s energy supply is strongly dominated by oil and natural gas, the country also has excellent renewable energy potential that – aside from large hydro – remains largely untapped. Solar power’s estimated technical potential is 23 GW, wind power’s is 3 GW, and small hydro, geothermal and bioenergy add another 1 GW,” reads the IEA report.
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