Azerbaijani president: Short-term plans aim to obtain 8 gigawatts of energy

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has outlined the country’s ambitious plans to expand renewable energy capacity, strengthen the national power grid, and continue growing natural gas exports.

“The map of solar and wind power plants has been approved, both on land and at sea, including on the liberated lands,” President Aliyev said during an interview with local television channels on January 5, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

He emphasised that the expansion of the energy system is necessary to accommodate the planned increase in renewable energy capacity.

“Currently, our main goal is to expand the capacity to receive this energy. Because according to the existing plans, 6,000 megawatts of solar, wind and hydropower will be included in our system by 2030, and 8,000 megawatts by 2032. In other words, in order to accept and absorb this, we need to strengthen our energy system. This is called the energy grid,” the head of state noted.

President Aliyev also stressed the importance of battery storage systems to support the renewable energy rollout.

“At the initial stage, we appealed to foreign companies to do this work as investors. But we saw that there was no particular interest. That is, the first batteries with a capacity of about 250 megawatts are already being installed through the state line, but there will be even more. Because, let me repeat, our short-term plans are to obtain 8 gigawatts of energy,” he said.

In addition to renewable energy, President Aliyev highlighted Azerbaijan’s expanding natural gas exports.

“Our gas exports are growing with respect to both volume and geography. So far, we have supplied gas to 14 countries, 11 of them on a regular basis,” he stated.

The President explained that gas supply to some countries can fluctuate based on demand, while the overall geographical reach continues to grow.

“There are countries that received our gas in 2024 but then stopped because of other sources. It is kind of on demand: whenever they need it, we start supply; when they do not need it, we cut it. But in total, the geographical coverage of pipeline gas from Azerbaijan amounts to 14 countries, and two more European countries will be added this year. So in total, it will be 16, and this is the largest number with respect to pipeline gas. No other country in the world supplies pipeline gas to as many countries as Azerbaijan. Our exports last year exceeded 25 billion cubic meters, with potential for growth,” President Aliyev noted.

By Vugar Khalilov