QAZAQ GREEN.  The State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and the United Arab Emirates’ Masdar have entered into a partnership on offshore wind and green hydrogen projects in Azerbaijan.

Under a joint development agreement, signed in Abu Dhabi on 15 January within the framework of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev’s business visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), SOCAR and Masdar will together develop offshore wind and hydrogen production projects totalling 2 GW in capacity.

The two companies also signed joint development agreements on 1 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects and 1 GW of onshore wind.

According to SOCAR, the joint development agreements will contribute to further strengthening the cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates. The projects will also support the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in Azerbaijan, which aims to increase the share of renewable energy in its electricity production capacity to 30 per cent by 2030,

In June 2022, Masdar and the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan entered into an agreement to cooperate on offshore wind-to-hydrogen projects with a total of 2 GW in capacity, with steps to creating these projects for production and export purposes outlined.

The now-signed joint development agreements on 1 GW of solar and 1 GW of onshore wind projects also build upon the cooperation agreements signed between the government and the UAE company in June.