Azerbaijan launches largest wind farm in the Caucasus
On January 8, Baku hosted an official ceremony of commissioning the 240 MW “Khizi-Absheron” Wind Power Plant, with a capacity of 240MW, Qazinform News Agency reports.
The project was implemented jointly with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and China’s Power China.
Addressing the ceremony, President Ilham Aliyev highlighted that the development of renewable energy sources is one of the key priorities of state policy and an important component of the country’s energy system modernization.
“I remember quite vividly that exactly four years ago, in January 2022, we laid the foundation of this plant in this very hall. Extensive work has been carried out over these years, and today we are celebrating this wonderful occasion together. First and foremost to the investor “ACWA Power” and its managers. I should also note that “ACWA Power” is one of the leading companies in the world in this field. It is also interested in implementing new projects in cooperation with Azerbaijani state agencies. In particular, the company, as an investor, will also implement the Caspian Sea desalination project, the first for our country,” Ilham Aliyev said.
The Azerbaijani President also thanked Power China, the general contractor of the project, and local energy professionals.
The wind power plant was constructed in the Absheron and Khizi regions, featuring 37 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 6.5 MW. The total investment in the project amounted to about 340 million U.S. dollars. The planned annual electricity generation is around 1 billion kWh. This will allow for annual savings of approximately 220 million cubic meters of natural gas and prevent emissions of more than 400,000 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
President Aliyev noted that over the past 20 years, the generation capacities created in Azerbaijan had increased by about three times compared to the entire previous period. Today, the country’s generation capacity stands at approximately 10,000MW.
According to him, based on the signed contracts, wind and solar power plants with a total capacity of 6 gigawatts will be built by 2030, and overall, 8 gigawatts by 2032.
He added that the wind potential in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea is estimated at 157GW.
Nasser Al-Qahtani, Assistant Minister of Energy for Electricity Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, emphasized that Khizi-Absheron flagship renewable energy project reflects the strength and depth of the partnership between the two countries.
Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Azerbaijan, Lu Mei, said this largest wind power project in Azerbaijan and the Caucasus region is expected to benefit over 300,000 households.
Earlier, it was reported that the world's first high-altitude wind turbine for urban use successfully completed a test flight.
