Azernews.Az

Qabil Ashirov

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Construction has officially begun on Azerbaijan’s largest solar power plant in the Bilasuvar district, with an installed capacity of 445 megawatts, Azernews reports.

The launch ceremony marked the installation of the first solar panel foundation, signaling the start of work on the ambitious project.

The event was attended by Bilasuvar District Executive Authority head Faig Gurbanov, Murad Sadikhov, head of the Azerbaijan office of the United Arab Emirates’ “Masdar” company, and Du Ning and Fan Tao, project leaders from China Energy Development.

Speaking at the gathering, officials stressed that the project would significantly improve the region’s energy supply, expand the use of alternative energy sources, and provide an important boost to sustainable development through the production of clean, environmentally friendly energy.

Representatives of the partner companies also provided details about the project. Following the speeches, Faig Gurbanov and Murad Sadikhov signed the first solar panel foundation, symbolically launching construction.

The solar plant project stems from an agreement between the Government of Azerbaijan and Masdar to expand the use of renewable energy sources and establish a “green energy” zone in Bilasuvar. The foundation stone was laid on June 4, 2024, in a ceremony attended by President Ilham Aliyev and UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber.

A total of 1,454 hectares of state-owned land within Bilasuvar’s administrative boundaries have been allocated for the project. Highly qualified specialists from China, Türkiye, Spain, and other countries are contributing to the construction, alongside plans to employ 1,500 local workers from Bilasuvar.

If you want, I can also prepare a short sidebar piece explaining Masdar’s role in Azerbaijan’s renewable energy strategy. That would make the article more complete for a newspaper page.