Azerbaijan to commission 10 wind, solar power plants within 2 years - Energy Ministry

BAKU. June 3 (Interfax) - Azerbaijan will commission 10 solar (SPP) and wind power plants (WPP) within the next two years, and plans to increase the share of renewable energy sources in the country's installed power capacity to 42.5% by 2035, Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said.

"Within the next two years, we will complete the first phase of green energy development by commissioning 10 solar and wind power plants. One plant is already operational. A 240 MW wind farm will be completed by the end of 2025. The foundation has also been laid for four additional plants with a total capacity of 1,240 MW," Shahbazov said during his speech at the Baku Energy Forum on Tuesday.

Construction will begin this year on three more SPPs with a total capacity of 200 MW, while preparatory work is underway for a 100 MW floating SPP project, he said.

"With a total investment of $2.7 billion, the share of renewable energy in Azerbaijan's installed capacity is expected to reach 33.7% by 2027. Our plan is to increase this figure to 38% by 2030 and 42.5% by 2035," he said.

Over the next five years, more than 6 GW of green energy capacity will be created both onshore and offshore, of which 4 GW is intended for export, he said.

Integrating 2,700 MW of wind and solar energy into the national grid by the end of 2030 will save around 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas, he said.

As reported, Azerbaijan expects to create additional energy capacity of 6.5 GW by 2030 through the construction of new renewable energy facilities.

Currently, Azerbaijan's energy system has an installed capacity of just over 8 GW.