Azerbaijan is taking significant strides in the development of green energy, with green hydrogen emerging as a key component of the country's future energy mix, said Deputy Minister of Energy Elnur Soltanov, Trend reports.
Speaking at the EBRD Annual Meetings in London, during a panel discussion titled "Azerbaijan: Emerging Gateway to Green Growth and Connectivity", Soltanov provided insight into the country’s evolving energy strategy and its focus on renewable resources.
While acknowledging that Azerbaijan is not yet at the forefront of hydrogen technology, Soltanov emphasized the country’s strong potential in offshore wind energy, which could play a crucial role in the development of green hydrogen.
He explained that Azerbaijan’s focus on green hydrogen stems from its potential as a storage solution for excess energy, particularly from renewable sources. "The way we started thinking seriously about hydrogen and specifically green hydrogen was as a storage system. Storage systems are very expensive, but hydrogen has very nice properties. When you have too much energy that you cannot use, there could be curtailment. Can you channel that energy for the production of hydrogen, which can then turn into electricity when you have a short supply, or could be exported as a molecule? So this was the idea," Soltanov noted.
In addition to green hydrogen, the deputy minister highlighted Azerbaijan’s competitive advantage in blue hydrogen, citing the country’s natural gas reserves and depleted oil fields that are well-suited for carbon capture and storage. "We have natural gas, we have depleted oil and gas fields for carbon capture and storage, but at the same time, we pushed our consultants towards green energy as much as we could," he added.
However, Soltanov acknowledged that global developments have influenced Azerbaijan’s expectations for green hydrogen. "Five years ago, we had much more upbeat expectations regarding green hydrogen. Today, we don’t have the same thing. But again, in every consultancy that we are hiring, and I appreciate free advice definitely, whenever we hire them, we have to include issues related to green hydrogen," he said.
"Given the scale that we have in the Caspian and the infrastructure I was mentioning before, we believe that we could create some kind of ecosystem, a symbiotic relationship between them, and again pull this off," he concluded.
Azerbaijan is taking major steps to strengthen its legislative and regulatory framework for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and power sector modernization.
Among the laws already adopted, Soltanov singled out the renewable energy law as the most impactful. "We expect to exceed 30% in terms of installed capacity before 2030 - actually by 2028 we anticipate reaching around 32%," he said.
The deputy minister also emphasized support for prosumers — individuals or companies that both consume and produce energy. “In Azerbaijan, individuals can already — and are already doing so — install up to 150 kilowatts of solar panels and engage in buying and selling electricity,” he noted.
Moreover, the energy efficiency law that Soltanov described as "qualitatively new" for Azerbaijan. "We are currently working on about a dozen bylaws related to certification in buildings, appliances, energy auditing," he said. "And we also have this energy efficiency fund, which has a sustainable financial base - we are taxing fossil fuels to sustain it".
He called energy efficiency "a new source of energy", pointing out that the legacy of inefficient Soviet-era buildings offers significant opportunities. "It’s a challenge, but it also means we could make some big gains - that’s an almost virgin area. We are very excited," he said. “In the coming years, if not months, you’ll be hearing more from the Ministry of Energy on energy efficiency than anything else".
