Azerbaijan

Masdar, the Abu Dhabi-based utility-scale PV project developer, has signed contracts to develop three solar and onshore wind projects in Azerbaijan, with a total capacity of 1 GW.

Construction on the project is planned to be finalized by the end of this year. The solar facility will likely supply power to the nearby located Garadagh Industrial Park.

Elsewhere, the German government wants to allow the testing of hydrogen production from offshore electricity, while a French consortium intends to promote the use of hydrogen at airports and build a European airport network to accommodate future hydrogen aircraft. Furthermore, the Port of Rotterdam is increasing its efforts to become a hydrogen hub.

That was just one of the revelations of the latest Dentons’ Guide to renewables investment in Europe, which also noted solar plants could be switched off in Slovakia, Ireland could go either way on clean power pricing, and Luxembourg is struggling with a surprising headache.

The country’s energy ministry has revealed plans to build a utility-scale floating solar plant on Lake Boyukshor, where it is already developing a 100 kW pilot floating PV array.

The procurement exercise, which includes 250 MW of wind to be developed by Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, was launched in March. The plant will be built at a site located 75 kilometers southwest of Baku. The authorities have not provided any information on final auction prices.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has issued an open call to hire a consulting firm to help the government of Azerbaijan to design and launch auctions for renewable energy.

The project is the first phase of the 2.8 MW Pirallahi PV power plant and part of the Government’s 2014-2020 energy strategy which aims to deploy over 600 MW of solar by 2020.