As the author of the article said, Azerbaijan is a relatively small country, however, vast offshore wind capacities in the country's Caspian Sea sector open major opportunities.
BVG Associates, British consulting company for renewable energy, has participated in the preparation of an offshore wind map for Azerbaijan, and is currently working with the Government to implement it.
Quoting Neil Douglas of renewable energy strategy consultancy at BVG Associates, the author noted that British experts are now in high demand in Azerbaijan.
"If you look at our experience in the UK, coal has largely come off the grid and it’s been replaced by lots of wind and solar. Azerbaijan is looking at that and the opportunity to decarbonize as part of a broader energy transition agenda. Countries like Azerbaijan have carbon reduction obligations under international frameworks such as the 2015 Paris agreement," Douglas said.
Douglas has travelled to a clean energy conference in Baku in Azerbaijan, where British companies presented their expertise in decarbonization technologies, including offshore wind. He highly valued the talks with Azerbaijani representatives, as well as the Ministry of Energy, with which BVG Associates has been working remotely for two years.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's technical potential for offshore wind in the Caspian Sea is 157 GW. Azerbaijan has already signed relevant deals with Masdar and Fortescue Industries on the total installed capacity of 22GW. For comparison, the entire installed capacity of power production in Azerbaijan, including all renewable and non-renewable, is 8 GW. Out of those 22 GW, about 16 GW account for offshore wind energy production. Ministry of Energy has also signed an agreement with ACWA Power on the construction of an offshore wind farm.
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