Azernews.Az

State programs on tapping alternative energy sources are being developed in Azerbaijan, Minister of Industry and Energy Natig Aliyev has said.
Addressing a conference aiming to explore Azerbaijan’s potential for using alternative and renewable sources of energy and the work being done in this area, Aliyev pointed to the lack of a substantial legal framework for developing such sources, adding that this framework would be improved.
According to the minister, the South Caucasus republic is one of the leading world countries for the potential on using alternative energy.
"Azerbaijan’s Caspian littoral territory and the Absheron Peninsula are particularly conducive for generating wind power. Producing wind power requires wind velocity of 3 to 27 meters per second, and the locations I mentioned are ideal in this respect.
"As for using solar energy, 280 sunny days [per year] is considered ideal. And the fact we have 260 to 280 sunny days indicates that Azerbaijan is very suitable for the purpose," Aliyev said.
The minister also said Azerbaijan possesses abundant thermal waters in the Caspian littoral area, Absheron and Guba regions. The temperature of such waters, which are encountered during the drilling of oil and gas wells, ranges between 65 and 90 degrees, which makes them prospective in terms of generating power.
Hermann Scheer, who chairs the German parliamentary committee on alternative energy and the Eurosolar society, said such unconventional sources account for up to 24 percent of energy consumption in Germany.
Scheer noted that the demand for energy resources in the world is rising by the year. He also emphasized Azerbaijan’s vast potential for tapping alternative energy.*