UAE renewable energy company Masdar said its first project in Azerbaijan, the 230 MW Garadagh solar photovoltaic power plant currently under construction, has achieved financial settlement.
The Abu Dhabi Development Fund, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency are co-financing the project, which is Azerbaijan's first independent solar power scheme based on foreign investment .
Construction of the solar park, located 9 kilometers northwest of the Arad settlement, began in March. Masdar expects the Galada to be in commercial operation by 2023, generating 500 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. This would be enough to meet the needs of more than 110,000 households and offset more than 200,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
Masdar has ambitious expansion plans in Azerbaijan, as the former Soviet republic seeks to increase the share of renewable energy in its installed capacity to more than 30 percent by 2030. In June, the UAE-based company unveiled a plan to develop 10 GW of renewable energy capacity in the country, starting with 4 GW of projects to be implemented through an agreement with the local energy ministry.
