Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) has signed agreements for solar and onshore wind projects with a total capacity of 1 gigawatt in Azerbaijan, following the inauguration of the region’s largest operational solar plant, the 230-megawatt Garadagh Solar Park. 

The solar power complex is Masdar’s first project in the country, and is co-financed by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Japan International Cooperation Agency.

The inauguration ceremony was led by Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the United Arab Emirates‘ minister of industry and advanced technology, COP28 president-designate, and chairman of Masdar. 

The strategic agreements cover the first phase of a 10GW pipeline of renewable energy projects in Azerbaijan signed in June 2022.

Azerbaijan has a strategic goal to become a green energy producing and exporting country, and the projects with Masdar will play an important role in increasing the share of renewable energy sources in electricity generation capacity to 30% by 2030.

Established in 2006, Masdar is active in more than 40 countries with a total electricity generation capacity of more than 20GW. It has invested, or committed to invest, in worldwide projects with a combined value of more than US$30 billion, with ambitious growth plans to reach 100GW and 1 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030