A 100 MW solar project is now operational in Azerbaijan.

The Gobustan solar power plant, located in the Garadagh district of the country’s capital, Baku, was developed by Chinese developer Universal International Holdings Limited.

The project is the first to be implemented under an auction in Azerbaijan. The auction ran in April 2024 and was awarded to the Chinese company in November 2024 with a winning bid of $0.0354/kWh.

The plant, located on a 300-hectare area, is expected to produce 200 GWh of electricity annually.

According to figures released by the government, the commissioning of the Gobustan plant takes Azerbaijan’s total installed renewables capacity to 2,170 MW across 85 plants. The total is equivalent to 21.5% of Azerbaijan’s total energy capacity.

There are currently ten operational solar projects in Azerbaijan, the government’s data adds, totaling 378.2 MW of capacity. The majority of the country’s renewables fleet is hydroelectric power plants, of which there are 65 totaling 1,443.5 MW.

A government press release adds that an additional 1.5 GW of renewable energy projects are expected to come online by the end of 2027. It also states the economic potential of green energy sources in Azerbaijan reaches 27 GW, 23 GW of which is covered by solar.

There are a number of large solar projects under development in Azerbaijan. Earlier this week, UAE-based developer Masdar announced it reached financial close on the 315 MW Neftchala solar PV project, to be built in southeastern Azerbaijan. At the same time, it unveiled plans to add a minimum 350 MW of solar, plus battery storage, to the operational 230 MW Garadagh solar PV plant.

Masdar is also developing the 445 MW Bilasuvar solar project alongside Socar Green, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Azerbaijan’s Socar state oil company.

The country is also working on plans to establish local manufacturing via an export-focused PV module factory in a free economic zone near Baku.