Azerbaijan is in intensive negotiations with colleagues from the UAE to expand their renewable energy cooperation, Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said in an interview.
“We are discussing the possibilities of cooperation and joint investments both in Azerbaijan and in the UAE. We recently laid the foundation stone for a new 230 megawatt solar power plant in Azerbaijan, which is the first industrial project with 100 percent UAE investment in Azerbaijan in the field of renewable energy,” Shahbazov said.
Oil-rich Azerbaijan wants to become a net exporter of renewable energy.
Azerbaijan’s Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov told the Emirates News Agency (WAM), adding that the partnership with the UAE will play a decisive role in this ambitious plan, Report informs.
“Azerbaijan has traditionally been a producer and exporter of oil and gas, as well as a net exporter of electricity. Now we are dynamically developing renewable energy sources. Together with our partners, including the United Arab Emirates, we will export green energy in the future,” he said. minister.
According to him, now Azerbaijan has embarked on an ambitious path of producing renewable energy sources.
“We just recently laid the groundwork for a new solar power plant. This is the first commercial-scale renewable energy project with 100 percent investment from the UAE,” the minister said on the sidelines of the World Utilities Congress in Abu Dhabi.
This is a 230 megawatt Garadagh Solar photovoltaic power plant project in Azerbaijan being built by Abu Dhabi-based Masdar, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies. Masdar announced the official start of construction in March 2022. This is the first independent solar energy project in Azerbaijan based on foreign investment and renewable energy cooperation.
Masdar signed agreements to develop the Garadagh Solar photovoltaic power plant project in April 2021, with the plant expected to enter commercial operation in 2023.