The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) approved a 114.2 million US dollars financing package to diversify Azerbaijan’s energy mix.
The funds will be used to commission a 230-megawatt (MW) photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant located near the Alat settlement in eastern Azerbaijan.
The funding will be provided to the Garadagh Solar Project developer Masdar Azerbaijan Energy, which is fully owned by Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company. Masdar’s solar power plant is the first privately owned, utility-scale solar power project in Azerbaijan. Once commissioned, the plant’s 230 MW of renewable energy will generate up to 558 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity, reducing annual CO2 emissions by up to 265,000 tonnes.
This will not only support Azerbaijan’s decarbonisation agenda but also contribute to European energy security by increasing the availability of domestic gas for exports. The project will thus contribute to priorities set out in the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely, clean and affordable energy; industry, innovation and infrastructure; and climate action.
