Parviz Shahbazov: Significant increase expected in electricity production

A significant increase in electricity production is expected in Azerbaijan at the end of 2022, and in the coming years, Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov said in his article published in the official press on the occasion of the October 20 Energy Workers Day, Report informs.

According to him, it is predicted that 28.5 billion kWh of electricity will be produced in the country in 2022 and 29.9 billion kWh in 2023: "In the coming years, the dynamics of electricity production will already be based on renewable energy sources. For this, there are all necessary conditions, such as rich potential, state policy prioritizing the development of renewable energy, new legal framework, and attraction of foreign investments."

The minister also said that Azerbaijan has over 26 gigawatts of wind and solar energy on land and 157 gigawatts of wind energy on the Caspian Sea: "The potential of wind, solar and hydropower in the liberated territories - Karabakh and Zangezur - exceeds 10 gigawatts. Taking advantage of this potential, within the framework of the goal of increasing the share of renewable energy in the production capacity of electricity to 24% in 2026 and 30% in 2030, the foundation of foreign investment-based wind and solar electricity stations was laid.in January-March of this year, for the first time in the country's energy history. Work is underway on the 240 MW Khizi-Absheron WPP and the 230 MW Garadagh SPP projects with a total investment value of more than $500 million dollars."

According to him, as a result of the commissioning of these stations, it is expected that 1.5 billion kWh of electricity will be produced annually, more than 330 million cubic meters of natural gas will be saved, and over 600,000 tons of carbon emissions will be prevented.