By Abdullahi Lukman
President Ilham Aliyev says Azerbaijan is making significant progress in its transition to renewable energy following the launch of the country’s largest wind power facility.
The 240-megawatt Khizi-Absheron Wind Power Plant, financed and built by ACWA Power, is expected to generate about one billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.
The project will also save roughly 220 million cubic meters of natural gas and prevent more than 400,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
The wind facility follows another major renewable milestone achieved in 2023 when the UAE-based clean energy company Masdar completed the 230-megawatt Garadagh Solar Power Plant.
That project produces around 500 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually—enough to power more than 110,000 households while cutting greenhouse gas emissions by about 200,000 tons.
Speaking at the 4th Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting in Baku on March 3, Aliyev said Azerbaijan aims to generate between six and eight gigawatts of electricity from renewable sources by 2032.
He explained that the electricity will help replace natural gas currently used for power generation while supporting economic growth and new sectors such as artificial intelligence and data centres.
Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan’s renewable energy expansion is being driven through partnerships between international investors and domestic companies. State oil company SOCAR remains a key participant, while private Azerbaijani firms are also increasing investments in the sector.
Under existing agreements, the country plans to commission about six gigawatts of wind and solar capacity by 2030 and increase that to eight gigawatts by 2032, alongside additional hydropower development.
In territories reclaimed after the Nagorno‑Karabakh conflict, which have an estimated renewable potential of 10,000 megawatts, about 307 megawatts of hydropower capacity has already been connected to the national grid, with plans to nearly double that figure.
Private energy firm Nobel Energy has also signed agreements with Azerbaijan’s Energy Ministry to develop new solar plants with capacities of 400 megawatts in Nakhchivan and 50 megawatts in Jabrayil.
Construction of two additional solar facilities—the Ufug and Shams plants, each with a capacity of 50 megawatts—began in Jabrayil in October 2025. The Ufug project is being implemented by Enerso Jabrayil, a subsidiary of Nobel Energy, while the Shams project is being developed by Clean Energy Jabrayil.
In another major initiative, Masdar and SOCAR launched three renewable projects in June 2024 with a combined capacity of one gigawatt.
The developments include the 445-megawatt Bilasuvar Solar PV Plant, the 315-megawatt Neftchala Solar PV Plant, and the 240-megawatt Absheron–Garadagh onshore wind farm.
