BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 14. bp anticipates signing a final investment decision (FID) with the Azerbaijani government for the local 240 MW Shafag (Sunrise) solar power plant (SPP) project in Jabrayil area in the second half of 2024, bp's Vice President for the Caspian region, Communications and External Affairs Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli told an Azerbaijani TV channel, Trend reports.
Preliminary estimates indicate that the Shafag project will cost more than $200 million. Its participants include the Azerbaijan Investment Company (AIC) and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), who joined on September 21, 2023.
"The project's peculiarity stems from the debut of virtual power transmission in Azerbaijan. As a result, the whole volume produced at the solar power plant will be transmitted to Azerbaijan's national energy grid, and in exchange, an equivalent volume of electricity will be supplied to one of bp's main facilities in another region of Azerbaijan," explained Aslanbayli.
He stated that the realization of this project will be significant in terms of the country's decarbonization efforts.
The solar power plant is estimated to generate 500 kWh of electricity annually.
Note that, in June 2022, the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan and bp signed an executive agreement on collaboration in the appraisal and implementation of a 240 MW solar power plant building project in the Zangilan-Jabrayil Zone.
This document was signed as part of a strategic decision to establish a green energy zone in Azerbaijan's liberated territories and to develop the renewable energy sector, as well as commitments to reduce carbon emissions by 35 percent by 2030 and to implement bp's zero-emissions strategy by 2050.
