TODAY.AZ / Business

Azerbaijan ranks 31 with best energy system

08 December 2017 [15:15] - TODAY.AZ

By Azernews


By Aygul Salmanova

Azerbaijan took the 31st place among 125 countries of the world with the best energy system according to the data of the "Energy Trilemma Index" for 2017, compiled by the World Energy Council, the largest international energy non-profit organization.

The country goes ahead in the ranking after Japan, and such countries as the Republic of Korea, Australia, China and Russia.

The South Caucasus country was ranked 44th in the field of energy security, 44th in terms of energy availability and 19th in terms of environmental sustainability.

The index assesses the efforts of 125 countries, given their ability to provide a stable energy system in three ways: “energy security” (data on the effective organization of primary energy supplies from national and foreign sources, the reliability of energy infrastructure and the ability of energy suppliers to meet current and future demand), “accessibility” energy (universal availability and financial accessibility), "environmental sustainability" (measuring overall efficiency in achieving a sustainable combination of polycy and balance, it highlights how well countries manage trade-offs).

This year, Denmark once again won first place, ahead of Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the UK. It took the first place in the field of energy security, 12th in terms of energy availability, and fourth in terms of environmental sustainability.

Azerbaijan is one of the energy-rich countries of South Caucasus with advanced energy infrastructure, fossil-fuel resources and energy system, providing itself needed capacity.

The energy security of Azerbaijan is formed by the principles of the reliable energy supply of strategic and important objects, security of the pipelines, diversification of energy sources, considerate of environmental requirements and efficient usage of energy resources.

The country is famous for its traditional energy resources like oil and gas. The strategy of energy security started from 1994 when the “Contract of Century” signed. Since then the oil and gas sector has been the driving force of Azerbaijan’s economy.  A number of production sharing agreements (PSAs), signed attracted considerable foreign direct investment from international energy companies.

At the same time, the usage of alternative and renewable energy resources forms the energy policy agenda. Country has also ample alternative energy resources in order to utilization and keeping the energy balance.

Azerbaijan is investing on the improvement and production of renewable energy resources. According to the Renewable Energy Strategy for 2012-2020, the country aims to raise the renewable energy volumes to 20 percent in electricity and 9.7 percent in total energy consumption.

In January 2013, Azerbaijan announced to raise over $7 billion in alternative energy investments by 2020, and increase total renewable capacity to 2,000 MW or 20 percent of the nation’s overall power needs

The wind, which blows more than 250 days per year and may generate 2.4 billion kWh of electricity annually, is the country’s preferred option because of its lower cost, environmental soundness and unlimited availability.

Offering 2,400-3,200 hours of sunshine per year, Azerbaijan has also good potential for solar electricity and heat generation.

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