Austrian ministry: Azerbaijan important partner in transition to alternative energy
By Rasana Gasimova
Azerbaijan and Austria closely cooperate in various spheres including in the sphere of energy.
Austria considers Azerbaijan as an important partner in the transition to alternative energy sources, Austrian Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism has told Trend.
“Azerbaijan and Austria have good cooperation at various levels in this sphere,” the ministry said.
The ministry noted that “Austria is currently making efforts to achieve a 100 percent consumption of renewable energy by 2030. It’s an ambitious but achievable goal. We are interested to learn about experiences of other countries."
The ministry went on praising Azerbaijan’s role in providing energy supplies to Europe and particularly emphasized the Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary-Austria pipeline (BRUA), which is an important link for Azerbaijani gas supply to Europe. BRUA gas interconnector can be used in the forthcoming enlargement stages of the Southern Gas Corridor in the Balkans and Central Europe.
“Austria supports the idea of diversification of energy resources and supply routes to increase energy security, particularly security and sustainably of supplies. In this regard, BRUA is a very important project,” the ministry noted.
Presently, Azerbaijan implements a number of measures for further development of alternative energy sector, aimed at reduction of its dependency on oil and gas. The favorable geographic location and climatic conditions allow the widespread use of environmentally friendly alternative energy sources in Azerbaijan.
Today, the share of electricity generation from alternative energy sources in Azerbaijan stands at 18 percent, the largest part of which accounts for hydroenergy.
According to the Market Analysis Azerbaijan 2019, expansion of renewable electricity generation is estimated at 430 MW in 2018-2020, 840 MW in 2021-2025, and 925 MW in 2026-2030. The share of renewables in the total power generation is expected to be 15 percent by 2020, 25-30 percent by 2025 and 35-40 percent by 2030.
Note that Austria supports Azerbaijan’s role in the diversification of energy supplies to Europe, as well as the energy projects implemented by Azerbaijan in this direction. Austria expects gas volumes from Azerbaijan to be delivered via Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Italy and further to other European countries, including Austria, when the Southern Gas Corridor will be fully put into operation.
As to other spheres of mutual cooperation, Azerbaijan mainly imports pharmaceutical products, iron and steel products from Austria. The country’s exports to Austria are primarily oil, gas and copper products.
Austrian companies have so far invested $73 million in Azerbaijan’s economy, while Azerbaijan invested $60 million in the economy of Austria. Transport sector is now the main area for investments in Azerbaijan for Austrian companies.
In 2018, the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Austria amounted to almost $400 million, about $67 million of which fell on imports from Austria, while Azerbaijani exports to Austria reached $330 million.
The highest level of trade turnover between the two countries was registered in 2015, when it amounted to 525 million euros.
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