Azerbaijan and Iran have established a working group to implement projects in the alternative energy sector.
Jamil Melikov, the deputy head of Azerbaijan’s State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources, said the working group was established as part of a memorandum of understanding signed with Iran's Energy Ministry.
“The working group will engage in organizational matters. It will propose various projects and discuss bringing investors and experts from both sides, give recommendations so that through our joint efforts we can implement projects in Azerbaijan and Iran,” AzerNews quoted him as saying.
The memorandum also provides for a mutual exchange of information on current and future projects in each of the two countries.
“Currently we are discussing organizational matters: the time and venue for the first meeting and the working group’s activity plan."
Melikov also noted that during an Azerbaijani delegation’s visit to Iran on August 3-4, the two sides expect to discuss acceleration of the working group’s activities and settle bureaucratic nuances.
The deputy head of the agency said cooperation with Iran covers a wide range of activities.
"We are very interested in the exchange of technical data, in particular in the hydropower and geothermal energy sectors. The projects, in which we plan to take part, are associated with the global energy system, the so-called transmission lines and substations, and the voltage level used for transmission," he said.
"We will also offer small projects to the Iranian side. This is the 'one house-one power station project', in which we already have some experience and will try to implement it in Iran."
The development of alternative energy is of significant importance for Azerbaijan and therefore the government seeks to introduce modern technology and involve foreign investors in its renewables sector.
Azerbaijan's State Statistics Committee has said the country produced 5.2 million kilowatt/hours of electricity from alternative resources from January to June 2015.
Azerbaijan’s State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Energy and the Georgian Energy Ministry will also establish a joint working group in the field of alternative energy.
