Arab companies will invest about $400 million in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani Deputy Energy Minister Elnur Soltanov told reporters, Trend reports on Feb. 19.

“Saudi Arabian ACWA Power company and the UAE’s Masdar company will invest $400 million in the pilot projects in the field of renewable energy sources in Azerbaijan,” the deputy minister added.

“The implementation of these projects will take about two years,” Soltanov added. “The project commissioning will be carried out gradually.”

“In accordance with the contracts, together with ACWA Power company, Azerbaijan will implement the pilot projects related to the construction of wind power stations with a capacity of 240 megawatts, while with Masdar company, Azerbaijan will implement the pilot projects related to the construction of solar power stations with a capacity of 200 megawatts,” Soltanov said.

“In general, about 1.4 kilowatts of electricity are planned to be generated per hour within wind and solar power projects,” the deputy minister said.

“The commissioning of these power plants will save 300 million cubic meters of gas per year, which is 10 percent of the gas consumed by the Azerbaijani population,” the deputy minister said. “This volume of 300 million cubic meters exceeds the entire gas demand in Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.”

"The implementation of these projects means additional foreign investments and the expansion of the opportunities for saving and export of gas," Soltanov said.

The signing ceremony of executive contracts among the Azerbaijani Ministry of Energy and ACWA Power and Masdar companies for the implementation of pilot renewable energy projects was held in Baku on January 9.

The agreements were signed by Azerbaijan’s Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov, Chairman of the Board of ACWA Power Mohammad Abunayyan and Chief Executive Officer of Masdar Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi.

19 February 2020 / 11:54