BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 24. Masdar Company of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will start construction of three renewable energy facilities with a total capacity of 1,000 MW (or 1 GW) in Azerbaijan in November 2024, an informed source told Trend in an exclusive interview.
“This November, the foundation of Masdar's three renewable energy facilities in the country will be laid - a 445 MW solar power plant (SPP) in Bilasuvar district, a 315 MW SPP in Banke village of Neftchala district, and a 240 MW wind power plant (WPP) in Absheron and Garadagh districts. The event will be timed to coincide with COP29 in Azerbaijan,” the source emphasized.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan signed three investment agreements with Masdar Company on October 26 for these three renewable energy facilities.
These investment agreements are the initial stage of the executive agreements concluded with Masdar in June 2022 on the development and implementation of megaprojects with a total capacity of 4 GW in the field of renewable energy.
These initiatives will contribute to the achievement of Azerbaijan's goal to increase the share of renewables in electricity generation capacity to 33 percent by 2030 (currently, the share of renewables is eight percent).
Additionally, Azerbaijani PM Ali Asadov ordered on April 16, 2024, to provide state and municipally owned land plots for these Masdar projects, the construction of which will begin in November.
Thus, according to the decree, 3.375 hectares of state-owned land in Mushfigabad settlement of Garadagh district of Baku city, 19.875 ha of state-owned land in the administrative territory of Absheron district, and 34.5 ha of land belonging to the category of agricultural land, of which 11.25 ha are owned by Pirekeshkul-Gobustan municipality of Absheron district, are defined as renewable energy territories for the construction of the “Masdar” 240 MW wind power plant.
In addition, 523 ha of land in the administrative territory of Neftchala district belonging to the category of industrial, transport, and other purpose lands used by the Ministry of Defense, 400 ha of land owned by Yenikend municipality of Neftchala district, and 50 ha of agricultural land owned by Neftchala municipality—a total land plot of 973.0 ha—are allocated for the construction of the “Masdar” power plant with a capacity of 315 MW.
Besides, a state-owned land plot of 1,454 ha, categorized as agricultural land in the administrative territory of Bilasuvar district, is designated as a renewable energy area for the construction of a Masdar solar power plant with a capacity of 445 MW.
“The total cost of the projects may exceed $1 billion.“ Masdar and the Azerbaijani Ministry of Energy are negotiating with international financial institutions for loans. In particular, the World Bank has agreed to participate in the financing of these Masdar facilities in Azerbaijan; nuances are being determined, including the size of loans,” the source added.
To note, Masdar was established in 2006 and is one of the world's largest companies creating renewable energy sources (projects in more than 40 countries with a total capacity of more than 20 GW).
Masdar has already built a 230 MW SES in Azerbaijan, which has been in operation since October 2023.
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