(Baku / Azerbaijan) – Renewable energy power plants with an output of at least ten gigawatts are to be installed in the Republic of Azerbaijan. 
In the first phase, systems with a cumulative output of four gigawatts are planned in two construction phases. The Arab state project developer Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) and the country's energy minister, Parviz Shahbazov, have now signed a corresponding agreement.
Sun, wind and hydrogen
Initially, solar and onshore wind farms are to be built, each with an output of one gigawatt. The second construction phase includes offshore wind farms in the Caspian Sea as well as production plants for green hydrogen with a cumulative total of two gigawatts.
This is “the largest production capacity for renewable energy in the region and in our history,” said Parviz Shahbazov. The project offers numerous opportunities for the development of Azerbaijan as a producer and exporter of green energy and enables investments amounting to several billion dollars.
Another six gigawatts planned
In a second phase, a further six gigawatts of power plant capacity will be added later. No details were given. However, in addition to these initial agreements, Masdar also signed a memorandum of understanding with representatives of the state oil company SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic), according to which the companies want to develop further renewable energy projects together.
It was only in March that Masdar laid the foundation stone for the “Garadagh” solar power plant with an output of 230 megawatts. The plant is scheduled to go into operation in 2023 and generate half a billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually. This meets the needs of more than 110.000 households and reduces the country's CO2 emissions by more than 200.000 tonnes per year, the company said.
In April, the company signed agreements in Egypt to develop green hydrogen projects with an output of four gigawatts. The plants with an annual capacity of 480.000 tons will be built in a special economic zone on the Suez Canal by 2030.
Masdar wants to have renewable energy power plants with an output of 2030 gigawatts by 50. The company's shareholders are the energy company TAQA (Abu Dhabi), the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and the sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates Mubadala Investment.
Photos
Parviz Shahbazov, Energy Minister of Azerbaijan (left), and Fawaz Al Muharrami, Managing Director of Masdar Clean Energy, sign an agreement to develop gigawatt-scale wind, solar and hydrogen power plants. © Masdar
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