Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend I.Khalilova / The Ministry of Industry and Energy of Azerbaijan, together with foreign experts, studies the potential of using wind, sun energy and small hydraulic aggregates in the Country, said the Head of the Economic Department of the Ministry, Rafig Aliyev.
According to initial research, nearly 100 alternative electricity sources are planned to be used over the next five years. According to him, Azerbaijan uses no alternative sources of electricity at present. Europe and other developed countries have decided to increase the annual share of alternative energy by 10-15%. "Despite this, there are no specific plans in Azerbaijan in this sphere, if a lot of work is done in the near future, Azerbaijan will also join this list of countries as result of putting such plans into operation," Aliyev considers.
Regardless to the capacity, the construction of one small hydraulic aggregate is estimated between $600.000 and $1 mln.
In 1998-1999 the Japanese Tomen held investigations in Azerbaijan and prepared a report. The construction of a hydro-electric power station, with a capacity of 60 MWt, was assessed at $100 mln.
However, due to high cost, the project was cancelled.