bp, Azerbaijan rolling sleeves up for clean energy project in Jabrayil Unchained renewables potential in liberated lands/Infographic

The realisation of the renewable energy potential in the liberated lands of Azerbaijan has gained momentum this week after bp and the government of Azerbaijan reached an agreement on the technical and commercial parameters of a solar power plant (SPP) to be built in the liberated Jabrayil district.

"We have settled it on very good terms. Now there are some technical issues left,” said Azerbaijan’s Deputy Energy Minister Elnur Soltanov commenting on the agreement on May 22.

Soltanov added the energy produced at the plant, dubbed Shafag (Dawn), will be used for supplying the Sangachal oil terminal, for which certain procedures will be settled between bp and the Azerbaijani government.

The Energy Ministry of Azerbaijan and bp signed the first official document about the Shafag Solar Power Plant (SPP), namely an Implementation Agreement on cooperation in the evaluation and implementation of a project to build a 240-MW solar power plant in liberated Jabrayil, in June 2021. The document highlighted cooperation within the Implementation Agreement for the technical and commercial evaluation of the solar energy project, plant designing, financial allocations and the adoption of the final investment decision.

In June, the Energy Ministry and bp inked an Addendum to the Implementation in order to take the necessary next steps for the joint implementation of the photovoltaic power station in Jabrayil. The document addresses the measures that should boost joint activities for realizing the Shafag SPP project.

In the addendum, the sides agreed to apply the "Virtual Energy Transfer" business model for securing effective technical and commercial solutions that would facilitate the project’s timely and proper implementation.  

“Shafag” SPP is expected to come online sometime in 2026 as reflected in the "Action plan for the establishment of a ‘green energy’ zone in 2022-2026 in the liberated territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan" approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in 2021.

It will provide electricity for 150,000 households per annum, according to Tabriz Ammayev, director of the State Agency for Renewable Energy Sources. According to him, the plant will churn out more than 500 million kWh of electricity. In addition to the “Shafag” SPP, the construction of solar power plants in other liberated regions will be considered in order to meet the possible increase in electricity supply in the future, said Ammayev.

Estimates put the renewable energy potential of Azerbaijan at 37,000 MW — around ten thousand of which was unveiled after the liberation of the country’s territories from Armenian occupation in 2020.

The alternative energy potential of the liberated territories of Azerbaijan includes almost all types of renewable energy sources, including hydro, solar, wind, and geothermal.

The Fuzuli, Jabrayil, and Zangilan districts come in at number two after the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic for their rich solar power resources. The solar radiation per square meter in these regions is reportedly amounted to 1600-1700 kWh per year, while the total solar energy potential is estimated at 7,200 megawatts.

The wind energy potential of the liberated territories is especially prevalent in the Kalbajar and Lachin districts. According to data released by the Energy Ministry, the average annual wind speed in these territories reaches 10 meters per second. The potential of wind energy in the mountainous areas of the Karabakh region is estimated at 2,000 megawatts.

Meanwhile, there are also 4,000-5,000 cubic meters of thermal water per day in the territory of the Kalbajar, Lachin, and Shusha districts.

The Azerbaijani government has identified the transformation of the country’s Karabakh (Garabagh) region into a green energy zone as a priority within the ongoing reconstruction and development projects.