Renewable energy in Azerbaijan
Renewable energy sources are important for Azerbaijan. However, except for hydropower, few renewable energy sources are utilized. One of the alternative sources of energy is wind energy. It is also more profitable due to the cost, ecological cleanness, and its renewable properties compared to other alternative energy sources. Azerbaijan's renewable energy sources are hydropower, wind, and solar and biomass power plants. Azerbaijan has 12 big and 7 small hydroelectric plants. It also has 6 wind, 10 solar, and 6 biomass power plants constructed from 2018 to 2020, which are expected to have an installed capacity of 420 megawatts (MW). The country's installed renewable energy capacity is 4.5 MW out of a total installed capacity of 6,452 MW. The technical potential for installed renewable electricity capacity is 115,200 MW for solar PV, 4,500 MW for wind, 1,500 MW for biomass, and 400 MW for small hydro. The government of Azerbaijan aims to increase share of renewables in total electricity production to 30% by 2030. Renewable energy sources in Azerbaijan Azerbaijan’s renewable energy sources are hydropower, wind, solar, and biomass power plants. Together, these generated 1.48 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy in 2018, comprising almost 9% of the total production of 17.2 billion kWh. Windmills Azerbaijan is one of those countries where windmills could be perfect fit due to geographical location. In particular, the Absheron peninsula, coastline of Caspian Sea and islands in the northwestern part of Caspian Sea, the Ganja-Dashkesan zone in the west of Azerbaijan and the Sharur-Julfa area of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic are favorable areas. In 1999, Japan's Tomen Company, together with the Azerbaijan Scientific Research Institute of Power Engineering and Energy, installed two towers with 30 and 40 meters in Absheron, average annual wind speed was determined to be 7.9-8.1 m/sec and feasibility study about the installation of windmills with a total capacity of 30 MWt had been prepared in Qobustan region. Solar panels Solar panel is also one of the most favorable sources in the world, and it is especially promising for sunny areas. The natural climate of Azerbaijan also provides extensive opportunities to increase the production of electricity and thermal energy by utilizing solar energy. Thus, the amount of sunny hours is 2400–3200 hours in Azerbaijan during the year, this means that the amount of solar rays falling on the territory of Azerbaijan is superior compared other countries that can be estimated as one of the efficiency criteria for attracting investments in the use of solar energy. The development of utilization of solar energy can partly solve energy problems in several regions of Azerbaijan. Hydroelectric energy The production of electricity from this hydropower is being increased since 1990. The percentage of production power of hydroelectric power plants is currently 17.8 percent in the total energy system of the Republic. There are wide opportunities for mastering hydropower resources that have not been used so far in the country. As a result of the construction of hydroelectric power plants, floodwater is regulated, electricity is ecologically produced, and