Azerbaijan Inaugurates 100 MW Gobustan Solar Power Plant in Baku
Baku, The Gulf Observer: President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the inauguration ceremony of the 100 MW Gobustan Solar Power Plant in the Garadagh district of Baku on September 16, marking another step in the country’s expansion of renewable energy capacity.
Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov, Ambassador of China to Azerbaijan Lu Mei, and Chief Executive Officer of Universal International Holdings Limited Yi Nan welcomed President Aliyev at the facility.
The president was briefed on the Gobustan Solar Power Plant, Universal Energy’s activities and the company’s operations in Azerbaijan.
Shanghai-based Universal Energy specializes in renewable energy and energy storage solutions and has also been involved in renewable energy projects in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
The project site, covering 300.77 hectares in the Pirsaat settlement of Baku’s Garadagh district, was designated as a renewable energy site by a decision of Azerbaijan’s Cabinet of Ministers in 2023.
The site was subsequently put up for auction for the construction of a solar power plant, with China’s Universal International Holdings Limited winning the auction in 2024.
The Gobustan Solar Power Plant is the first renewable energy project in Azerbaijan implemented through an auction mechanism and the first project undertaken by Universal Energy in the country.
The plant has been equipped with solar panels, field inverters and transformers, while the required cabling works have also been completed.
The facility is expected to generate approximately 200 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually once fully operational. Its projected output is expected to save about 45 million cubic meters of natural gas per year and reduce carbon emissions by approximately 97,000 tons.
The expansion of renewable energy sources remains a key priority of Azerbaijan’s energy policy.
Azerbaijan’s technical renewable energy potential is estimated at 135 GW onshore and 157 GW offshore, while its economic potential is assessed at 27 GW. This includes 3 GW of wind energy, 23 GW of solar energy, 380 MW of bioenergy and 520 MW of mountain river potential.
With the commissioning of the Gobustan Solar Power Plant, the country’s total renewable energy capacity is expected to reach 2,170 MW across 85 power plants.
The renewable energy portfolio comprises 65 hydropower plants with a combined capacity of 1,443.5 MW, six wind power plants totaling 306.5 MW, 10 solar power plants with a combined capacity of 378.2 MW, three hybrid power plants with a total capacity of 7.3 MW, and one biomass power plant with a capacity of 37 MW.
Renewable energy sources are expected to account for approximately 21.5 percent of Azerbaijan’s total electricity generation capacity.
Azerbaijan plans to implement renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of approximately 1.5 GW by the end of 2027. The projects, being developed in cooperation with local and international partners, are expected to contribute to the country’s electricity supply while supporting natural gas savings and reducing carbon emissions.
