(MENAFN- AzerNews) Nazrin Abdul, AZERNEWS
Climate change is one of the global problems thatconcern the world and is now an undeniable reality in front of allcountries. Widespread use of fossil fuels and, as a result, anincrease in the volume of greenhouse gases released into theatmosphere, causes the temperature to rise in the world.
For these reasons, we can say that holding the COP29,which is the largest event in the world, is not a one-sided issue the issue of climate change, the international community and thecountries of the world have a great responsibility.
Azerbaijan's hosting of COP29 can be considered themost important event of 2024 and a logical continuation of thecountry's strategy of transition to a green economy. Thedeclaration of 2024 as the "Year of Solidarity for the Green World"in our country by the Decree of the President of Azerbaijan is aconfirmation of the value given to this mission.
The next reality of the energy policy of Azerbaijan,which has rich alternative energy resources, is related to thedevelopment of "green energy". The strategic basis of renewableenergy production policy is "Azerbaijan 2030: National Prioritiesof Socio-Economic Development" defined by the state and adopted inFebruary 2021. One of the five national priorities - cleanenvironment and "green growth" country priority sets new goals.
In addition, the "Socio-economic development strategyof the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2022-2026" envisages increasingthe share of renewable energy sources in electricity production to24 percent by 2026, and to 30 percent by 2030.
When we look at the work done and the goals set, wesee a country that is not satisfied with just making promises butachieves concrete results with strategic environmental decisions country is proving its importance to the green energy economywith practical activities. Thus, Azerbaijan aimed to reduce theamount of greenhouse gases by 35 percent by 2030, and by 40 percentby 2050, compared to 1990.
Despite its name being closely associated with oil,Azerbaijan is a leader in the implementation of approaches to thetransition to green energy in the region and makes a greatcontribution to the fight against the consequences of climatechange.
Azerbaijan takes practical measures to combat climatechange and the ecological well-being of the planet. One of the mainpriorities in the reconstruction of the liberated territories isthe restoration of the ecosystem and the protection of theenvironment. As the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said,Karabakh will be a "green energy" zone.
In accordance with the country's socio-economicdevelopment priorities, in the current and future period, moreattention is paid to the use of renewable energy sources and theexpansion of the application of "green" technologies.
Renewable energy projects with a capacity of 7gigawatts will be implemented in Azerbaijan by 2030, 5 gigawatts ofthis capacity are planned to be exported.
In this direction, Azerbaijan is currentlyimplementing a 240 MW wind power plant project with ACWA Power, areputable company of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the field ofrenewable energy.
Thus, in 2022, a Memorandum of Understanding oncooperation in the field of offshore wind energy was signed betweenthe Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan and the ACWA Power Company ofthe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The memorandum envisages cooperation in determiningthe main principles of cooperation in the field of offshore windenergy, assessing potential, and creating conditions for profitableinvestment in renewable energy projects in Azerbaijan.
According to the memorandum, on January 13, 2022, thegroundbreaking ceremony of the "Khizi-Absheron" Wind Power Stationwas held in Azerbaijan by the ACWA Power Company.
It should be noted that "Khizi-Absheron" KES will bethe largest power plant in the renewable energy sector inAzerbaijan with a capacity of 240 megawatts.
It was reported that the Wind Power Plant will be putinto operation in 2025. By producing one billion kilowatt-hours ofelectricity annually, the station will save approximately 220million cubic meters of natural gas and prevent more than 400,000tons of carbon emissions from being released into theatmosphere.
Within the framework of the work carried out in thisfield, camera studies are ongoing across the country in thedirection of identifying and prioritizing areas with the potentialfor renewable energy sources.
Along with the consumption and export of traditionalenergy resources of Azerbaijan, it attaches great importance torenewable energy due to its high potential.
It should be noted that Azerbaijan is one of thecountries with high potential for renewable energy sources to calculations, the technical potential of renewableenergy sources in our country is 135 gigawatts on land and 157gigawatts at sea.
The economic potential of renewable energy sources is27 gigawatts, including 3,000 megawatts of wind energy, 23,000megawatts of solar energy, and 380 megawatts of bioenergy. Thepotential of mountain rivers is estimated at 520 megawatts.
Azerbaijan already has the experience of using windenergy and interest in this field is growing. Taking into accountthe environment, economic infrastructure, and geographicallocation, the wind energy potential in Azerbaijan is estimated at800 MW.
The full use of this energy would save 20% of theenergy produced now.
It should also be noted that in terms of wind energy,the Absheron Peninsula, coastal areas of the Caspian Sea, and theNakhchivan Autonomous Republic are particularly favorable. At thesame time, based on preliminary studies, it was determined that thetechnical potential of wind energy in the mountainous areas ofLachin and Kalbajar is 2000 MW.
According to preliminary estimates, this energyresource is approximately 2.4 billion. kW/s means electricity, in turn, costs 0.8 mln. ton means saving fuel.
In recent years, a large amount of investment has beenmade in the creation and restoration of energy infrastructure. Inparticular, the interest in alternative energy fields has increasedsignificantly.
The start of operation of the Garadag Solar PowerStation (GES) last year is the beginning of a new stage. GaradaghHPP is the first station built at the expense of foreign investmentin our country. Thus, the project of the station is implementedwith the prestigious "Masdar" company of the United ArabEmirates.
The 230 MW solar plant was officially inaugurated onOctober 26, 2023. Garadag Solar Power Plant is the largest solarpower plant in the Caspian region and the CIS. The station wasbuilt with foreign investment worth 262 million US dollars.
It will be possible to save 110 million cubic metersof natural gas by producing 500 million kilowatt-hours ofelectricity at the station every year. This will reduce carbonemissions into the atmosphere by 200,000 tons. The transition togreen energy also shows the country's commitment to its obligationsregarding carbon emissions. According to the commitment, Azerbaijanmust reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2050 andcreate a "zero emission" zone in the territories freed fromoccupation. As can be seen, serious measures are already beingtaken in this direction.
In the field of renewable energy in Azerbaijan,implementing the Yashma power plant construction project, turningNakhchivan into a green energy zone along with Garabagh and EastZangazur (the possibility of building a 500 MW solar power plant isbeing considered), and the 240 MW power plant in Jabrayl, in whichBritish company bp acts as a direct foreign investor. plans tolaunch a solar power plant.
One of the importance of the energy facility "Shafaq"Solar Power Station, which will be built with BP, is that it willbe built in the territories freed from occupation. It is known thatPresident Ilham Aliyev declared these territories - an area of10,000 square kilometers - a "green energy" zone shortly after thevictory in the 44-day Patriotic War. Therefore, the construction of"Shafaq" will play an important role in the realization of thisgoal, and will become a part of the grand construction carried outin Garabagh and Eastern Zangazur in general.
At the same time, it plans to implement SOCAR'sproject on connecting electric cables to offshore platforms toreduce the use of natural gas in enterprises in the country, aswell as the construction of an underwater cable through the bottomof the Black Sea to transport green energy from Azerbaijan toEurope.
"SOCAR Green" LLC is expected to implement severalimportant projects soon. Thus, in the initial phase of the "Mega"project, "SOCAR Green" and "Masdar" companies are planning toimplement 1 GW wind and solar energy projects on land. "SOCARGreen" will also implement solar and wind energy projects in theNakhchivan Autonomous Republic together with "ACWA Power", "Masdar"and "Energy China". Let's emphasize that Nakhchivan has beendeclared a "green energy" zone due to its rich resources in thementioned area.
At the same time, studies are being conducted on thetransportation of hydrogen to the European market through theTrans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). In particular, the requirements forthe construction of the necessary equipment for the transportationof natural gas and hydrogen mixture through the TAP pipeline arebeing studied. At the same time, in cooperation with internationalcompanies such as bp and KBR (Great Britain), Masdar (UAE), andEquinor (Norway), discussions are held on promising technologiesfor the production of hydrogen.
It should be recalled that on December 17, 2022, the"Agreement on strategic partnership in the field of development andtransmission of green energy" was signed between Azerbaijan,Georgia, Hungary, and Romania in Bucharest. This agreementenvisages laying a 1,100-kilometer submarine cable under the BlackSea as the main channel providing Europe with "green energy".According to the agreement, 4 gigawatts of green energy will beexported to Europe at the initial stage. In other words, Azerbaijanaimed to build a "green energy" bridge to Europe.
Azerbaijan's green energy strategy is multifaceted andall risks have been taken into account. Azerbaijan, which is theleading country in the region in terms of energy resources, willmaintain its position in the green energy sector as well. This is awell-thought-out and forward-looking energy policy. These projectsare very valuable both for the protection of the environment, forthe provision of economic power, and for raising the general levelof development.
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