Azernews.Az

By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade

Azerbaijan, which strives to lessen its dependency on oil and gas, implements a number of measures for further development of alternative energy sector, aimed at developing a legal framework, getting experience from the global companies and attracting investments.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Ministry of Energy and the Norwegian company Equinor Absheron AS.

Equinor Absheron AS will help develop alternative energy in Azerbaijan, Trend reports with reference to the country's energy ministry on February 25.

This is provided for in a memorandum of understanding, which was signed by the Deputy Minister of Energy Samir Valiyev and the Equinor Absheron manager for Azerbaijan Fawad Quraishi.

The parties together will assess the potential of renewable energy sources in Azerbaijan, form common principles for the use of alternative energy and consider areas of cooperation to create conditions for investment.

The signed document will help the development, financing and implementation of the alternative energy projects.

Equinor is planning to invest more in alternative energy projects in the future, and it is expected that by 2030, up to 15 percent of investments will be directed to renewable energy projects.

The favorable geographic location and climatic conditions allow the widespread use of environmentally friendly alternative energy sources in Azerbaijan.

The capacity of the energy system of Azerbaijan is more than 6,000 megawatts. At the same time, according to the experts, the potential of renewable energy sources in the country is more than 25,300 megawatts.

At present, about 18 percent of electricity production in Azerbaijan falls on alternative energy sources, among which hydro power plants hold main share, although most of the country's potential in this area falls on solar energy (estimated at 5,000 megawatts).

Some 4,500 megawatts account for wind power, 1,500 megawatts -- for biomass, 800 megawatts -- for geothermal energy, and the remaining 350 megawatts -- for the small hydro power plants (HPP).

There are plans to implement a number of projects totaling $2.3 billion in alternative energy. So the Azerbaijani government is planning to increase the share of alternative energy by 30 percent by 2030 in total power generation.

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