Most of the easily accessible opportunities in both the oil and gas sector and the renewable energy field have already been utilized. Processes in these areas are becoming more detailed and complex.
“Elchi” reports that Deputy Minister of Energy Elnur Soltanov stated this while speaking at the event on Energy Efficiency and ESCO Investment Platform: Linking Global ESCO Experience with Azerbaijan’s Large Energy Consumers, organized within the framework of the 31st Baku Energy Week.
“However, there is still great potential in the field of energy efficiency, and this area is of special importance to us. We are working on the formation of a legal framework for the development of energy efficiency and have almost completed this process,” Elnur Soltanov added.
According to him, intensive work is currently underway on the energy certification system for buildings:
“We believe it will be possible to start this process and have it fully operational by the end of the year.”
The Deputy Minister stated that approximately 500 companies, organizations, and buildings with energy consumption ranging from 250 kW to 1000 kW have been identified in Azerbaijan. These entities and buildings must appoint energy managers. Together with the Ministry of Energy, this process has already been carried out in nearly a hundred organizations, and energy managers have been identified in those enterprises.
“This is a fairly complex and detailed process. Energy managers must pass relevant exams and be professionally certified. At the same time, it is mandatory for those 500 entities to undergo an energy audit every three years. In other words, conducting an energy audit is a legal requirement for them.
I am not mentioning these things by chance. In addition, the Energy Efficiency Fund has been established. The funding of the Fund is already being provided, and we are trying to direct those financial resources to energy efficiency projects,” Elnur Soltanov emphasized.
