“ACWA Power” company (Saudi Arabia) is starting the stage of construction works on the contractual territory in the villages of Pirekushkul in Absheron region and Sitalchay in Khizi region of Azerbaijan of wind turbines with a total capacity of 240 MW. As Turan has learnt from an informed source, the construction (installation) of 17 wind turbines in Pirekushkul village and 23 turbines in Sitalchay village will start in February 2024, and the whole facility is planned to be put into operation in 2025. The implementation of the project is based on the build-own-operate principle. The cost of the project is over $300 million (“ACWA Power” capex). Each of the wind turbines has a capacity of 6 MW. Recall that the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan signed an executive contract with Saudi company “ACWA Power” on 9 January 2020 in Baku for the construction of a wind energy facility with a total capacity of 240 MW. In December 2020, an “Investment Agreement” was signed between the Ministry of Energy and this company, and an “Agreement on Purchase and Sale of Energy” and an “Agreement on Connection to the Distribution Network” were signed with “Azerenerji” for this project implementation. The wind generation will annually provide 1 billion kWh of electricity to the country’s grid, which will allow Azerbaijan to free up to 220 million cubic metres of gas for its needs or export. At that, implementation of the project will allow Azerbaijan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere with a total volume of 400.000 tonnes (within the framework of obligations under the Paris UN “Climate Agreement”). It should be reminded that ACWA Power is also studying the possibility of construction of offshore and onshore wind farms with a total capacity of 2.5 GW, as well as energy storage systems in Azerbaijan. The Ministry of Energy also invited “ACWA Power’ to participate in “green energy” projects in Nakhchivan. According to the Ministry of Energy’s plans, Azerbaijan could commission solar and wind power plants with a total capacity of 1,800 MW by the end of 2026, which would free up 1 billion cubic metres of gas for export. By 2030, energy generation from renewable energy sources may grow up to 5 GW in Azerbaijan. Aside from this, Azerbaijan has significant RES potential: 157 GW of wind power in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, 27 GW of wind and solar power on land and 10 GW of wind and solar power in the territories liberated during the Patriotic War of 2020 (Karabakh and East Zangezur). According to “Global Solar Atlas” estimates, the solar generation potential in Azrebaijan is comparable to the south of Italy and almost 1.5 times that of Germany, while the wind energy potential on the Absheron Peninsula is comparable to the offshore areas of the North Sea. So far, a share of RES in Azerbaijan’s energy balance is insignificant (including hydropower totalling 17-18%), but by 2030 it may reach and even exceed 30% due to new projects both in the liberated territories and in the Caspian zone

Source: Turan News Agency