By Azernews

By Leman Mammadova

Renewables are the sources of clean and inexhaustible energy. Hydrocarbons, which are the traditional source of energy used by the world for many years, are gradually being run out and, thus, make the use of alternative and renewable energy sources urgent. 

Azerbaijan produced goods and services worth 1.9 billion manats in production, distribution and supply of electricity, gas and steam in 2018.

The figure shows a seven percent increase compared to 2017, according to the State Statistics Committee, Report informs.

Production volumes in the sector of water supply, wastewater treatment and processing increased by 3.7 percent reaching 313.8 million manats.

As much as 23.2 billion kWh of electricity was produced in Azerbaijan last year, which is 2.6 percent more than in 2017.

However, 1,737 kWh of this accounted for the production of hydro power plants, that makes 1.2 percent increase compared to 2017.

Thermal power plants increased electricity production by 3.1 percent to 20,534 kWh.

During the past year, energy production at wind power plants registered growth of five compared to last year, amounting to 57,5 kWh.

At the same time, production at solar power plants reduced by 4.3 percent compared to 2017, having produced only 38.3 kWh.

The favorable geographic location and climatic conditions allow the widespread use of environmentally friendly alternative energy sources in Azerbaijan.

The capacity of the energy system of Azerbaijan is more than 6,000 megawatts. At the same time, according to experts, the potential of renewable energy sources in the country is more than 25,300 megawatts. Most of the country's potential in this area falls on solar energy, while it is estimated at 5,000 megawatts.

Some 4,500 megawatts accounts for wind power, 1,500 megawatts -- for biomass, 800 megawatts -- for geothermal energy, and the remaining 350 megawatts -- for the small hydro power plants (HPP).

The use of wind energy in Azerbaijan is considered prospective. More than 270 days of strong winds were captured on the Absheron Peninsula and in the coastal zone of the Caspian Sea. The average annual speed of the wind is 7.2 meters per second. The calculations show that a wind power plant with a capacity of 500 kW prevents emissions of 750 to 1,250 tons of carbon dioxide and 3-6 tons of other harmful substances compared to the coal-fired power plant.

According to the State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources, Azerbaijan has about 800 MW of annual wind energy reserves due to its geographical location, natural conditions and economic infrastructure. This is about 2.4 billion kWh of electricity, in other words it is possible to save about 1 million tons of fuel per year due to the wind energy.

Aiming to lessen its dependency on oil, Azerbaijan carries out a number of measures for further development of alternative energy sector.

There are plans to implement a number of projects totaling $2.3 billion in alternative energy.

The projects include a plant for production of biofuels (pellet fuels) in the Sabirabad district, construction of wind power plants in the Pirallahi district, an agro-energy residential complex in the Samukh district and others.

Construction of two wind power farms worth $800 million and $408.9 million in the Pirallahi district, as well as a wind power farm worth $377.7 million in the Khizi district are the biggest projects planned for implementation.