On September 16, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the opening of the 100 MW “Gobustan” Solar Power Plant in the Garadagh district of the capital.
“Elchi” reports that Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to our country Lu Mei, and Chief Executive Officer of “Universal International Holdings Limited” Yi Nan welcomed the head of state.
President Ilham Aliyev was briefed on the “Gobustan” Solar Power Plant, “Universal Energy” company, and its activities in Azerbaijan.
It was noted that the company, established in Shanghai, China, provides solutions for green energy and energy storage systems.
In addition to China, “Universal Energy” is implementing renewable energy projects in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
By a decision of the Cabinet of Ministers in 2023, a 300.77-hectare land area in Pirsaat settlement of Garadagh district, Baku, was designated as a renewable energy zone for the construction of a solar power plant.
This area was put up for auction for the construction of a solar power plant, and China’s “Universal International Holdings Limited” became the winner of the auction in 2024.
The “Gobustan” Solar Power Plant project is the first project implemented in Azerbaijan through an auction, and also the first project executed by “Universal Energy” in our country.
In addition to solar panels, field inverters and transformers have been installed at the station, and cabling work has been fully completed.
Following the commissioning of the “Gobustan” Solar Power Plant, the production of approximately 200 million kilowatt-hours of electricity is forecasted annually. This will allow for saving 45 million cubic meters of natural gas per year, as well as reducing carbon emissions into the atmosphere by 97,000 tons.
It should be noted that one of the priority directions of the energy policy implemented in our country under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev is the widespread application of renewable energy sources.
The technical potential of green energy sources in Azerbaijan is 135 GW on land and 157 GW at sea. The economic potential is estimated at 27 GW, including 3 GW for wind energy, 23 GW for solar energy, 380 MW for bioenergy potential, and 520 MW for mountain rivers. With the commissioning of the “Gobustan” Solar Power Plant, the total capacity of renewable energy sources in our country will reach 2170 MW, and the number of stations will be 85. Of these, 65 are hydroelectric power plants (1443.5 MW), 6 are wind power plants (306.5 MW), 9 are solar power plants (278.2 MW), 3 are hybrid power plants (7.3 MW), and 1 is a BIO power plant (37 MW). Renewable energy sources account for approximately 20.8 percent of our country’s total energy capacity. By the end of 2027, the implementation of renewable energy projects with a capacity of approximately 1.5 GW is planned. These projects, carried out jointly with local and international partners, contribute to the electricity supply of our country, while also creating conditions for saving natural gas and significantly reducing carbon emissions into the atmosphere.