There is no installed wind energy capacity in Azerbaijan,
one of the oldest oil producing countries in the
world. In the last few years only small autonomous
wind units were used for irrigation and lighting.
The number and current operating conditions of these
units is not known.
A recent project sponsored by the Ministry of Industry
and Energy will include the construction of a 1
MW turbine in the Khizi District, about 100km west
of Baku. That project is expected to be in operation
in 2006. Built during the Soviet era, Azerbaijan's
power infrastructure is generally in poor condition,
with minimal public investment and maintenance since
independence.
A country wide wind-atlas is available, where
one main area with annual average wind speeds of
more than 6 m/s were identified. The “Master Plan
of Wind Power Development of the USSR till 2010”,
published in 1989 included a country-level wind
map. The resource potential was estimated for 30m
above ground. The wind map identifies areas above
"6 m/s", but there is no indication of the actual
value. This value could be anywhere between 6 and
10 m/s. The wind energy resource potential of 110
x 109 kWh/y estimated in the study is probably accurate.
Thus, at an average capacity factor of 25 percent,
there is a total of 3,000MW of wind power capacity.
Under these circumstances the technical wind energy
resource potential of Azerbaijan is good.
The most promising sites are on the Apsheron Peninsula
in the east along the Caspian Sea. Caspian Sea zone
and the Kura River lower reaches and Nakhichevan
Autonomous Republic also seem to have a good potential.
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