Special Report: China Helps Transform Azerbaijan into a “Green Country” with Bilasuvar SES

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

BAKU, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) — "You go and check the first few rows of piles, see if the distance between them is OK," Azer Hajiyev, 35, told his colleague at the construction site of the 445-megawatt Bilasuvar solar power plant. He first spoke in Chinese to confirm the command with his Chinese colleague, then quickly switched to his native Azerbaijani to convey it to local workers.

The SES project is being implemented in the Bilasuvar region of Azerbaijan, this power plant will be the largest in terms of installed capacity in the country. Its area will be about 1,454 hectares, which is equivalent to more than 2,036 standard football fields. The main contractor for this project is the Northwest Electric Power Design Institute (NWPDI) of China Power Engineering Consulting Group (CPECC), which is part of China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC).

Azer Hajiyev, a native of Sheki, is the deputy head of the pile-installation section. He previously studied Chinese for four years in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. “Because I know the language, I can be both a builder and a translator. But the most important thing is to learn as many new technologies and experiences as possible from my Chinese colleagues,” he said.

On August 12 this year, the first pile was successfully installed, which marked the official transition of the project to the main construction phase. According to Fan Tao, General Manager of the International Division of NWPDI and project manager, the work is planned to be completed in the second half of 2026.

Azerbaijan is rich in oil and gas resources and is one of the leading energy exporters. In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and diversify its energy sector, the country plans to increase the share of renewable energy sources in electricity production to 30 percent by 2030.

“Once commissioned, the Bilasuvar SES will generate an average of 890 million kWh of electricity per year, which will meet the needs of about 200,000 households in the region and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 670,000 tons annually,” said Fan Tao.

According to the project's executive director, Du Ning, the piling equipment was delivered via the multimodal route "Xi'an /China/ – Aktau /Kazakhstan/ – Baku /Azerbaijan/", which reduced the transportation time to approximately 21 days.

“Thanks to the logistical advantages of China-Europe rail freight transport and China’s developed supply chain in the photovoltaic industry, Chinese enterprises demonstrate a clear competitive advantage in the Azerbaijani market,” he noted.

In recent years, China and Azerbaijan have been actively developing cooperation in the field of renewable energy sources. In particular, in 2023, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called the opening of the 230 MW Garadagh solar power plant, in the construction of which a Chinese company took part, an “outstanding achievement”.

"The project has created jobs for us and brings in decent income. I hope that in the future even more Chinese companies will implement projects in Azerbaijan, and I expect further strengthening of cooperation between our countries," concluded A. Hajiyev. –0–

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

.