First appeared in
Asian Development Bank
100 Climate Actions from Cities in Asia and the Pacific
Despite being a major crude oil and natural gas producer, Azerbaijan is taking the first steps to transition to a renewable energy system with ambitious renewable energy targets.
Despite being a major crude oil and natural gas producer, Azerbaijan is taking the first steps to transition to a renewable energy system with ambitious renewable energy targets.
Azerbaijan aims to triple its current capacity of wind, solar, and biomass energy generation to give renewables a 40% share of the energy mix by 2030. Energy diversification efforts have been underway since 2013, which have scaled renewables to account for 18% of the energy mix thus far.
This ambition is especially notable since Azerbaijan is amongst the top 25 oil and gas producing countries. The planned solar, wind and biomass developments are expected to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by a total of 500,000 tons from the energy sector, which is by far the country’s largest source of emissions.
500K
TONS OF CO2 REDUCED
TONS OF CO2 REDUCED
In addition to wind and land-based solar power, floating photovoltaic solar power has been identified as an area of potential, and Lake Boyukshor is one of the first pilot sites for the technology. The previously polluted saline lake is the largest of nine lakes in Azerbaijan’s Absheron peninsula and will soon host a 100 kilowatt floating photovoltaic system.
Azerbaijan is aiming to triple its renewable energy generation capacity by 2030 (photo by ADB).
The Challenge
As the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, Baku strives to contribute significantly towards the country’s achievement of its ambitious renewable energy targets.
Co-Benefits
Economic By contributing to energy security, the project helps to protect against energy unreliability, preventing economic losses.
Social Developing solar and other renewables will create green jobs for Azeris.