Azerbaijan to save gas owing to renewables

Available capacity of renewable energy sources currently makes up 17% in Azerbaijan, Deputy Energy Minister Elnur Soltanov told reporters.

According to him, the share of renewables in power generation reached 7.3% in 2019. Azerbaijan used natural gas to generate the remaining 93% of electricity.

Today, the country uses almost no hard coal or diesel to produce energy.

The deputy minister said the available capacity of renewable energy sources is formed by hydroelectric power plants (1,230-1,279 MW), wind, solar, and biomass (141 MW):

"Azerbaijan is slightly lagging in this field, and we have to step up our work. Our target is to get 30% of energy from renewable energy by 2030. We have taken steps in this direction and signed contracts with ACWA Power and Masdar for 440 MW solar and wind power projects."

"The government intends to attract private investment in this field. After the installation of the 440 MW-system in Azerbaijan, 300,000,000 million cubic meters of gas will remain unused. We can earn more for the country by exporting these volumes."