ACWA Power Unveils Timeline for Azerbaijan’s 240 MW Khizi-Absheron Wind Power Plant

Saudi Arabia’s leading renewable energy developer, ACWA Power, has announced the timeline for the launch of its wind power plant in Azerbaijan.

Mehmet Salim Guven, ACWA Power Regional Director for Azerbaijan and Türkiye, stated that the 240 MW Khizi-Absheron Wind Power Plant project will be fully completed by November 2025.

“Construction has commenced. Engineering works are nearly complete, and procurement has been finalized. All key components, including the substation, turbines, towers, and blades, are either being delivered or have already arrived in Baku. The next phase involves the construction of wind towers,” Guven told Azertag.

According to him, if weather conditions permit, the installation of the first wind tower in Absheron will commence soon. Simultaneously, preparations are underway for construction at the Khizi site. The Absheron phase of the project features a capacity of 78 MW, distributed across twelve 6.5 MW turbines, while the Khizi site will host 25 turbines with a combined capacity of 162.5 MW.

By August 2025, the first batch of green energy is scheduled to connect to Azerbaijan’s grid, and by November, the full 240 MW generation capacity will be operational.

The Khizi-Absheron Wind Power Plant is expected to generate 1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, saving 220 million cubic meters of natural gas and preventing over 400,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

On January 13, 2022, the groundbreaking ceremony for this plant took place, marking the first industrial project in Azerbaijan implemented with foreign investment in renewable energy sources. ACWA Power officially registered under Azerbaijan’s tax regulations on August 28, 2024.

“Azerbaijan is a strategically important country for ACWA Power. We are committed to partnering with Azerbaijan to achieve the green energy priorities set by President Ilham Aliyev,” said ACWA Power’s Mehmet Salim Guven. “This aligns with our commitment to supporting the energy transition in the region, including Azerbaijan, through renewable energy, hydrogen, and other technologies. We are dedicated to developing more projects and actively exploring future opportunities in Azerbaijan.”

President Aliyev recently stated that Azerbaijan’s technical potential for renewable energy is estimated at 135 gigawatts onshore and 157 gigawatts offshore. By 2030, Baku plans to leverage renewable sources through solar, wind, and hydropower stations with a combined capacity of approximately six gigawatts. To this end, contracts and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for 10 gigawatts of renewable energy projects have been signed. This will enable Azerbaijan to achieve a 30 percent share of green energy in power generation within the next five years and reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2050.

The economic potential of green energy sources in Azerbaijan stands at 27 gigawatts, which includes 3 gigawatts of wind energy, 23 gigawatts of solar energy, 380 megawatts of bioenergy potential, and 520 megawatts of mountain river potential, according to the Energy Ministry.

Since 2020, Azerbaijan has been actively collaborating with foreign companies to capitalize on its abundant renewable energy resources. Leading energy companies and operators such as Masdar, ACWA Power, BP, Fortescue Future Industries, China Gezhouba Group Overseas Investment, Total Energies, Nobel Energy, A-Z Czech Engineering, and Baltech have secured agreements to invest in green energy projects.

In October 2023, in cooperation with the UAE’s Masdar, the Garadagh Solar Power Plant — the largest solar energy complex in the Caspian and CIS regions, with a capacity of 230 MW — was commissioned.

Additionally, Masdar is engaged in the construction of a 315 MW solar power plant in the Neftchala district, a 445 MW solar power plant in Bilasuvar, and a 240 MW wind power plant in the Absheron-Garadagh district.

In March 2024, Nobel Energy, a part of NEQSOL Holding, and the Energy Ministry of Azerbaijan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop a solar power plant in Jabrayil. The joint development of the 100 MW photovoltaic solar power plant will be executed in two stages. The initial phase, comprising 50 MW, is scheduled for completion by 2027, with the remaining capacity to be installed in subsequent years. The plant is expected to generate around 180 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually, powering approximately 58,000 households.

In 2023, Nobel Energy signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Energy to construct a 400 megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Nakhchivan, a region in the southwest of Azerbaijan. The solar power plant will leverage advanced solar technology to generate clean and reliable electricity. The project aims to use the vast green energy potential of Nakhchivan for supplying both Türkiye and the domestic market.

In 2021, Azerbaijan’s Energy Ministry and BP signed an Implementation Agreement to cooperate on evaluating and implementing a 240 MW solar power project, known as “Shafag” (Dawn), in Jabrayil. In 2023, BP and Azerbaijan agreed on the technical and commercial parameters of the “Shafag” SPP, scheduled to go online by 2026. The plant is projected to supply electricity to 150,000 households annually, generating over 500 million kWh.