BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 17. With the
connection of the Gobustan solar power plant to the power grid, the
installed capacity of renewable energy sources in Azerbaijan has
reached 2,170 MW, the director of the State Agency for Renewable
Energy under the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan, Javid
Abdullayev, said during a media tour of the Gobustan Solar Power
Plant, Trend's
correspondent reports.


According to him, the 100-MW Gobustan Solar Power Plant became
the first renewable energy project in Azerbaijan to be implemented
following an auction.


Abdullayev noted that the final, in-person phase of the auction
lasted more than six hours and took place during COP29 in Baku:
“Universal, a subsidiary of the Chinese Vantai Group, won the
auction. After the contracts were prepared and signed and
construction began, the plant was built within 300 days. The
plant’s installed capacity is 100 MW. At the same time, the
investor also built a substation. The substation is connected via
110-kV lines to the Alat substation, as well as to the AzerEnerji
substation in the Salyan District. All of these connection lines
were built by AzerEnerji.”


According to him, upon entering the station’s grounds, one can
also see a road more than 9 kilometers long, which was built and
put into operation by the State Agency of Motorways of Azerbaijan
within 37 days.


Furthermore, Abdullayev noted that the station is equipped with
710-watt panels manufactured by the Chinese company Longi: “Today,
these are the most powerful panels installed at our
industrial-scale solar power plants.”


The agency’s director also highlighted the role of the European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development in organizing the
auction:


“Throughout this entire auction process, the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development worked alongside us and provided
technical support in organizing the auction. It can be said that
both the auction organization project and the power plant project
itself have been successfully completed.” The geographic scope of
companies investing in Azerbaijan’s renewable energy sector
continues to expand. While our first power plants involved
investors from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, we are
now seeing a significant investment from a Chinese company – more
than $54 million.”


J. Abdullaev noted that the presence of such investments attests
to the existence of a favorable investment climate in
Azerbaijan.







“The investment conditions are quite attractive to investors.
The rules of the game are completely transparent and clear, and
practically every day we receive proposals from various sectors and
regions regarding the continued construction of renewable power
plants in Azerbaijan in the next phases. During the plant’s
construction, approximately 450–500 jobs were created.


Of all the specialists involved in the plant’s construction,
only seven are foreign specialists; the rest are Azerbaijani
citizens. This is also a very important indicator,” he said.


Abdullayev reported that 14 people will work permanently at the
plant, while another six employees will handle plant-related
activities at the headquarters in Baku.


According to him, a complex of dormitories to house specialists
has also been put into operation on the station’s premises: “The
construction of the substation, funded by a Chinese investor
company, as well as its operation and other necessary work, has
already been completed. With the connection of the Gobustan solar
power plant to the power grid, the installed capacity of renewable
energy sources in Azerbaijan has reached 2,170 MW.


This means that, as of today, 21.5% of Azerbaijan’s installed
capacity comes from renewable energy sources. This is undoubtedly
very important from the perspective of the green transition.


According to him, all the necessary work for the first phase has
already been completed, the relevant contracts have been signed,
and investors are carrying out work at virtually every stage.