Azerbaijan's electricity production soars by 4.3 pct

By Azernews

By Rasana Gasimova

Azerbaijan’s power plants generated 24.2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2019. This is 4.3 percent more compared to 2018.

Some 23.4 billion kilowatt hours of the total electricity generated in 2019 accounted for commercial consumption, which is 4.6 percent more compared to 2018, State Statistical Committee reported.

Of the total commercial electricity generated in 2019, thermal power plants accounted for 21.7 billion kilowatt-hours, generating a 5.8 percent more electricity than last year.

Azerbaijan’s hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) generated over 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity during the reporting period, which shows an 11.6 percent decline.

During the reporting period, some 106.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity were generated via wind power, which indicates an annual growth by 1.85 times, and 42.3 million kilowatt-hours of electricity were generated from solar power which shows an annual growth of 10.4 percent.

Earlier this month, President Ilham Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan is making progress in electricity production, saying that once dependent on electricity imports, the country is increasingly becoming exporter of electricity.

Azerbaijan is also actively working to develop its renewable energy sources. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Energy and Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power company and the UAE’s Masdar company executive agreements on the implementation of pilot renewable energy projects in the Cabinet of Ministers on January 9.

According to the agreements, pilot projects will be implemented with ACWA Power for the construction of a 240-megawatt wind farm, and with Masdar for the construction of a 200-megawatt solar power station. These projects are expected to produce 1.4 billion kilowatt / hours of electricity per year.

Currently, 91.9 percent of electricity in Azerbaijan is produced from traditional sources of energy (natural gas), while 8.1 percent of electricity is produced from renewable sources. Taking the capacities of large hydroelectric power plants into account, the share of renewable energy sources in the production of electricity is 17 percent (1,276 MW).