City of winds: Baku concentrates most of the country's 157GW technical potential in offshore wind energy
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Middle Eastern energy giants Masdar and ACWA Power have struck agreements to make the first foreign investments in utility-scale solar and wind projects in Azerbaijan, marking a major step towards unlocking the country’s huge untapped renewable energy potential.
The oil-rich nation could generate more than 180GW in solar and wind power, according to its energy ministry and the World Bank, far outstripping today’s 1.3GW of installed renewables capacity.
In April, Abu Dhabi’s Masdar signed a $200m agreement to develop and operate a 230MW photovoltaic project, scheduled to come online in 2023. This comes three months after Saudi Arabia’s ACWA committed to building a 240MW wind project that will power 300,000 homes.
“Considering that these projects are the first green investments in Azerbaijan, they will play a great role in the country’s green transition,” said Javid Mustafayev, managing director of InvestBaku. “Besides the environmental benefits of these alternative energy sources, they can also provide new business opportunities for local small-to-medium enterprises.”
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