One of the most important strategic directions for the development of Azerbaijan is the use of alternative energy sources, ecologist and professor Chingiz Ismayilov told Trend. He mentioned that there is potential for this in Azerbaijan.
"Alternative energy sources will increase the weight of renewable energy sources in Azerbaijan's energy balance. The availability of alternative energy sources is important. But it is also important to attract investors to this sphere, define partnerships with the private sector, make ancillary investments, and attract modern technologies," he emphasized.
According to the ecologist, alternative energy sources have both positive sides and economic difficulties.
"The cost of electricity from renewable energy sources is thus higher than production from conventional energy sources. Large investments are needed to develop this area. The location of renewable energy power plants is also very important. The projected potential of alternative energy in Azerbaijan is 157 GW in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea (35 GW in shallow basins and 122 GW in deep basins). For this reason, it is more appropriate to build wind farms on the coasts and islands. First of all, it is necessary to attract specialists to the territory where the station will be built and conduct an assessment," he added.
To note, the technical potential of renewable energy sources amounts to 135 GW on land and 157 GW at sea. The economic potential is estimated at 27 GW, including 3,000 MW for wind energy, 23,000 MW for solar energy, 380 MW for bioenergy potential, and 520 MW for the potential of mountain rivers.
The total power generation capacity of Azerbaijan is 8320.8 MW, and the capacity of renewable energy power plants, including large hydroelectric power plants, is 1687.8 MW, which is 20.3 percent of the total capacity.
https://en.trend.az/business/green-economy/3882142.html