Measures have been taken to expand the use of renewable energy sources in the first half of this year

During the six months of 2019, the Ministry of Energy has started preparing legislative acts joinly with Norway's DNV GL Energy Advisory GmbHincreasing to increase the specific weight of alternative and renewable energy sources in total electricity generation capacity, improvement of normative legal base to regulate this sector in order to attract private investment in alternative and renewable energy, preparation of documents covering discounted tariffs and other incentive measures. The preliminary drafts of the law on the “Use of Renewable Energy Sources in the Generation of Electricity”, a model agreement on the purchase of energy and renewable energy sources to the electric network prepared by company were submitted to the ministry. At present, work is being done to improve the projects.

At the same time, accordaning to the agreement signed with the company, reports on the "Framework Plan for Renewable Energy Markets" , The "General Concept" for Azerbaijan, current situation in the country and international experience in legislative acts were prepared and submitted to the Ministry of Energy.

During the 6 months of the year, negotiations on the development of legislative acts, defining the mechanism of auctions on renewable energy sources, preperation of the design of auctions, technical feasibility studies of wind and solar energy projects were held with international financial institutions to get support, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) agreed to fund the implementation of these measures. For this purpose, the tender was held and the consulting company was selected.

Measures were taken to select and prioritize high-potential sectors in renewable energy sources during the six months of the current year and prepare them for future investments through auction. Discussions were held with relevant agencies on the study of land ownership and perspective, environmental impact assessment of renewable energy sources projects, exploration and development of infrastructure availability, as well as the measurement of the potential areas and installation of measuring equipment for data collection.

Cooperation with international companies has been strengthened to attract investment in renewable energy. The number of companies with which  Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation and other documents was signed, is 8. (BP, Masdar, Avelar Solar, Tekfen, Total, Equinor, Akwa Power, Mitsui Co).

During the first half of the year, the measures were continued by Asian Development Bank on the implementation of the Pilot Project “Knowledge Exchange and Technical Assistance on the Development of Floating Solar Panels System”. Initial report of the project. "Development of Floating Solar Energy Technologies" was submitted by ADB.  Meetings and discussions were held with EQO-NIXUS, an international consulting company dedicated to the implementation of the pilot project.

To initiate the project the Ministry has appealed to the Cabinet of Ministers for allocation of land, permitting the use of surface water, as well as reviewing the issue and opinions provided by the legislation. At present, discussions are under way with the relevant authorities. For this purpose, a working group meeting was also held and the work to be done to ensure the implementation of the pilot project was discussed.

Implementation of the project was initiated by the SNC-Lavalin's Atkins Company, selected as a consultant within the Letter of Intent between the Energy Ministry and BP. Letter of Intent was signed to support measures taken by the Ministry in order to the implementation of the project "Improving the operation of small hydropower plants and the efficient utilization of hydropower capacity". Information was collected and visits to areas were held and meetings were held. At the next meeting with BP and SNC-Lavalin's Atkins, the implementation of the event was discussed and the general structure of the company's analysis was submitted.

It should be noted that based on the results of the analysis and assessment, it is envisaged to develop recommendations on the efficient utilization of hydropower capacity of the rivers and improvement of the operation of the stations,  and roadmap  taking into account progressive international experience.

The project "Strengthening the network to support renewable energy projects in Azerbaijan" is being developed with the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) during thefirst half of the year.