Azerbaijan, Turkey to invest in renewable energy sector

By Aynur Karimova - AzerNews 

Azerbaijan and Turkey will jointly invest in the renewable energy sector, Turkey's Public Disclosure Platform said on July 22.

The relevant Memorandum of Understanding was recently signed between the Turkish Turcas Enerji Holding and Azalternativenerji under Azerbaijan's State Agency on Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources.

According to the document, the sides will jointly invest in the construction of solar, wind, and geothermal power plants in Turkey and Azerbaijan, along with implementing other projects.

The contract is valid for a period of three years from the date of signing.

According to preliminary studies, Azerbaijan plans to construct up to 100 facilities for producing alternative energy in five years.

In 2014, investments in the development of Azerbaijan's alternative energy sector reached 63.6 million manats ($60.6 million), some 34.9 million manats ($33.25 million) of which fell to the development of solar power, while 28.7 million manats went to wind energy. Since 2000, a total of about 800 million manats ($762.26 million) has been invested in the development of Azerbaijan’s renewable energy sector.

Azerbaijan's State Agency on Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources was established by presidential decree on February 1, 2013.

The total potential of alternative and renewable energy sources in Azerbaijan exceeds 12,000 megawatts – 5,000 megawatts from solar, 4,500 megawatts from wind, 1,500 megawatts for biomass, and 800 megawatts for geothermal energy. The remaining 350 megawatts is the potential for small hydroelectric power plants.

Currently, the share of alternative energy sources in Azerbaijan is less than 1 percent, and is accounted for by small hydroelectric power plants.

This share is slated to increase to 20 percent of the total volume of energy consumption in Azerbaijan by 2020, which requires 7 billion manat ($8.9 billion) of investment.

The increase of alternative energy capacity will reduce the use of hydrocarbons in the oil-producing country, making it possible to redirect them to overseas markets and increase Azerbaijan’s export potential and revenues.

The official exchange rate on July 22 was 1.0495 AZN/USD.