BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 31. Generation and transportation of renewable energy from Azerbaijan to global markets stand among the main goals, an energy expert Arif Demirov told Trend.
He also indicated that, in recent years, Azerbaijan has seen a growth in the amount of investments made in renewable energy sources.
"Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR) is one of our regions with significant potential in this area. The fact that Nakhchivan borders Türkiye and Iran also increases its green energy export potential. Nakhchivan has been designated as a green energy zone along with Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur by President Ilham Aliyev. A special development concept has been elaborated to turn Nakhchivan into a green energy zone. This region of the country is rich in wind and solar resources, which also attracts the attention of foreign companies working in the energy sector. Nakhchivan's favorable geographical location creates opportunities for renewable energy production. It is planned to create 1,500 MW of wind and solar energy production capacities in Nakhchivan at the expense of foreign investments," Demirov said.
The expert noted that the construction and commissioning of the 36 MW Ordubad hydroelectric power plant, which is expected to produce 190 million kWh of electricity per year, will also contribute to environmental safety.
To note, the potential of renewable energy sources in NAR is estimated at 5 GW. The Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan encourages foreign investors to create such sources. Particularly, the TotalEnergies and Nobel Energy companies are expected to build SPPs with a total capacity of 650 MW, Masdar (UAE) - a SPP of 150 MW, Germany's Notus energy - a 70 MW SPP in the north-west of the NAR. Additional projects are also being considered.