Minister: Azerbaijan seeks to be net renewables exporter

Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov has said that oil-rich Azerbaijan wants to be a net exporter of renewable energy sources.

He made the remarks in an interview with the Emirates News Agency (WAM), according to Report.

The minister added that the partnership with the United Arabian Emirates will play a crucial role in that ambitious journey.

"Azerbaijan has traditionally been a producer and exporter of oil and gas, as well as a net exporter of electricity. We are now developing renewable energy sources in a dynamic manner. Together with our partners, including the UAE, we will be a country that exports green energy in the future," Shahbazov said.

Azerbaijan has now embarked on an ambitious journey of producing renewables, the minister said.

"We have just recently laid the foundation for a new solar power station. It is the first industrial-scale renewable energy project with 100-per cent investments from the UAE," the minister told WAM on the sidelines of the World Utilities Congress in Abu Dhabi last week.

Shahbazov was referring to the 230-megawatt (MW) Garadagh Solar photovoltaic plant in Azerbaijan, being constructed by Abu Dhabi-based Masdar, one of the world's leading renewable energy companies.

Masdar announced the formal start of its construction in March 2022, which is Azerbaijan's first foreign investment-based independent solar power project. The company signed agreements to develop the Garadagh project, located 9 kilometres northwest of Alat settlement, in April 2021, with the plant expected to start commercial operation in 2023.

A UAE-funded project to power 110,000 homes will help generate half a billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to meet the needs of more than 110,000 houses. It will also reduce emissions by more than 200,000 tons a year and create valuable jobs.