Improvement of Legislative framework on Renewable Energy Sources was discussed

An event on "Improvement of Legislative framework and grid strengthening in utilization of renewable energy sources in Azerbaijan" was organized by the Ministry of Energy with the participation of representatives of a number of government agencies and international experts.

Samir Valiyev, Deputy Energy Minister spoke about the measures taken to expand the use of renewable energy sources in the country and underlined the importance of improving the legal framework in this area.

Ilka Lewinqton, an expert of DNV-GL consulting company, made a presentation on the current state of expanding and support of the use of renewable energy sources in Azerbaijan. Participants were also briefed about the provisions of the draft law, main support mechanisms and assessment of renewable energy. It was noted that Azerbaijan has sufficient wind and solar energy potential, and selection of territories based on this potential and uninterrupted connection thereof to the grid are the main challenges ahead. The areas with favorable terrain for wind and solar stations have already been identified. Nakhchivan was selected as a favorable place for solar power, Khizi and western part of Absheron peninsula for wind power. It was further mentioned that access of the selected territories to grids is crucial and proximity of electricity grids, their operational condition and capabilities should be studied precisely to build new stations for renewable energy sources. According to the initial results of the research, existing transmission and distribution grids allow the implementation of renewable energy generation and integration thereof into the general energy system. Nevertheless, it is also important to take measures in order to strengthen the network.

The participants of the events exchanged their views on the introduction of guaranteed tariffs in the field of renewable energy sources, rules for organization of auctions, power purchase aggreements and the main technical requirements to have this issue is reflected by the Grid Code.