IRENA chief praises Azerbaijan's green energy ambitions

Azerbaijan's leadership is appreciated for its ambition to implement 2 GW of green energy projects by 2027.

Report informs that Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), said this during his speech at Baku Energy Week.

"I commend Azerbaijan's leadership for its ambition to implement 2 GW of green energy projects by 2027," he said, adding that Azerbaijan plays an active role in IRENA's governance as a council member for 2026 and as vice-president of the 17th IRENA Assembly in 2027.

According to him, COP29, held in Azerbaijan's capital Baku, played a key role in launching IRENA's Accelerated Partnership for Renewable Energy in Central Asia, known as APRECA.

"As the host of the next COP, we intend to build further on the achievements made in Azerbaijan in cooperation with our friends from Türkiye. We want to take forward the achievements made in Baku under the leadership of COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev.

APRECA seeks to advance the energy transition through increased investment, stronger regional interconnection and sustainable growth. We have received more than 1,600 projects for financing, and at the end of my speech I would like to note that 700 GW of renewable energy capacity was created last year. This also means efficiency and capacity building.

The electricity capacity we created in one year is equal to the total capacity generated by nuclear energy over 70 years.

Therefore, we must increase our capacity. Over the past five years, nearly 90% of new electricity generation capacity has come from renewable sources. The energy system is therefore changing. I have said this many times publicly: the question is not whether renewable energy is completely clean. From a social perspective, it may be considered more acceptable because we are creating new jobs and attracting investment. But the most important point is that the competitiveness of future economies will depend directly on the capacity of energy systems and their ability to provide industry with electricity at the lowest possible cost. This is impossible without renewable energy," he said.