BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 15. The work on the Garadagh solar power plant project with the UAE's Masdar company is already in its final phase, Javid Abdullayev, Director of the State Agency for Renewable Energy Sources under the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan, told Trend in an exclusive interview.
“The power plant is planned to be put into operation by the end of the year. Within the framework of the project, the construction of roads has been completed, kilometers of territory have been fenced, a platform for placing solar panels has been leveled. The construction of the substation is in full swing. Manufactured solar panels are gradually being brought to the site. The number of panels that will be installed here as part of the project is more than 500,000 units. The area of the land allocated for the project is 550 hectares. Direct contracts with the Masdar company have already been signed," Abdullayev said.
On January 9, 2020, the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Masdar Company of the United Arab Emirates signed an Implementation Agreement. According to the Agreement, pilot project will be implemented for the construction of solar power plant with a capacity of 230 MW by Masdar. In this regard, on April 6, 2021, Investment agreement, Power Purchase agreement and Transmission Connection agreement were signed on 230 MW solar power plant between the Ministry of Energy, Azerenergy OJSC and Masdar of the United Arab Emirates. The project with a total installed capacity of 230 MW will be implemented in an area 9 km northwest of Alat settlement.
According to preliminary estimates, the solar power station will annually generate 500 million kWh of electricity, will save 110 million cubic meters of natural gas per year, to prevent 200,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions and to supply 110,000 homes with electricity. The total cost of the project is approximately $ 200 million and is expected to be fully funded by foreign investment. On March 15, 2022, with the participation of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates, Suhail Al Mazrouei groundbreaking ceremony of the 230 MW Garadagh Solar Power Plant was held.