Azerbaijan unveils conditions for renewable energy projects investors PHOTO

Azerbaijan has set the conditions for investors involved in renewable energy projects.

Deputy Director of the State Agency for Renewable Energy Sources (AREA) Aygun Zeynalova disclosed the conditions at the seminar "Agreement of the main terms of contracts concluded with investors and minimization of risks" in Baku, Report informs.

Zeynalova added that in the framework of negotiations with investors on renewable energy projects, it is important to agree on contracts, minimise the risks of the parties involved in projects, as well as recognise the effectiveness of projects by international financial institutions and include the necessary conditions in contracts.

Organized by AREA and led by representatives of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and lawyers from an international law firm, as well as, representatives of the Ministry of Energy, the Central Bank and the Energy Regulatory Agency attended the seminar.

Azerbaijan joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as a non-Annex I country in 1995 and ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016. The government has outlined climate change mitigation actions in a number of sectors, including energy, and the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources is preparing both a national strategy for climate change and a national low-carbon strategy.

Since securing energy independence in the long term is central to Azerbaijan’s energy policy, it has recognised the value of diversifying its economy, increasing energy efficiency and supporting GHG emission mitigation programmes.

Azerbaijan has a significant untapped potential for renewable energy, as it is relatively sunny and windy and also has sizable hydro, biomass and geothermal resources. The government is developing a legislative framework to support the use of renewable energy. The draft renewable energy law envisages introducing auctions and tenders as support mechanisms.