Hydropower Makes a Splash in Solomon Islands Honiara, Solomon Islands

3.9M

TONs OF CO2 EMIssIONs REdUCEd BY 2030

Inhabitants 2.29 million

GdP per capita $4,689

Geographic area 2,140 km²

ThE ChAllENGE

As the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, Baku strives to contribute significantly toward the country’s achievement of its ambitious renewable energy targets.

CO-BENEFITs

Economic

By contributing to energy security, the project helps to protect against energy unreliability, preventing economic losses.

social

Developing solar and other renewables will create green jobs for the people of Azerbaijan.

BaKU, azerBaiJan ramping Up renewables atop a fortune of fossil fuels

despite being a major crude oil and natural gas producer, Azerbaijan is taking the first steps to transition toward a more sustainable power sector with ambitious renewable energy targets.

Azerbaijan aims to triple its current capacity of wind, solar, biomass, and hydro electricity generation to give renewables a 30% share of the country’s total installed power capacity by 2030. Energy diversification efforts have been underway since 2013, which have scaled renewables to account for 7.3% of the electricity production, thus far.

This ambition is especially notable since Azerbaijan is among the top 25 oil and gas-producing countries. The planned solar, wind, biomass, and hydro developments are expected to reduce, by 2030, a total of 3.9 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) emissions from the energy sector, which is by far the country’s largest source of emissions.

In addition to wind and land-based solar power, floating solar photovoltaic (FPV) power has been identified as an area of potential, and Lake Boyukshor is one of the first pilot sites in Central Asia for this technology. The previously polluted saline lake is the largest of nine lakes in Azerbaijan’s Absheron peninsula and will soon host a 100-kilowatt FPV system. The pilot project is implemented through technical assistance from ADB, which will also explore the feasibility of a scale-up plant, provide technical capacity building, and develop detailed business models to encourage private sector participation. Located in the Azeri capital of Baku, the technical assistance will pilot test high-level technology, showcasing the potential of innovative FPV development to local universities, research institutions, private sector companies, and the general public.

azerbaijan’s clean energy mix. Azerbaijan is aiming to triple its renewable energy generation capacity by 2030 (photo by ADB).