Green Energy for COP29 Stadium and Liberated Territories

Azerbaijan’s COP29 Operating Company is advancing green energy initiatives with partners to power the Baku Olympic Stadium, host of the upcoming COP29 climate summit, and to promote sustainability across Azerbaijani regions.

At a press briefing in Baku, Ayan Najaf, a member of the COP29 Operating Company’s Coordinating Council, announced that power generators at the Olympic Stadium will utilize Hydrated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuel. “For the first time, HVO fuel will be used to power a UN climate summit venue, setting a possible precedent for future international forums. This initiative underscores Azerbaijan’s commitment to environmental protection and alternative energy use,” Najaf stated.

In support of this commitment, the COP29 Operating Company signed a Memorandum of Cooperation today with the “Yashil Enerji Electric Station,” a green energy firm headquartered in Lachin. The memorandum was signed by Hikmet Mustafayev, head of the COP29 office, and Emil Ibadov, a representative of Yashil Enerji, which manages green energy projects in Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur.

Ibadov highlighted that 32 hydroelectric plants with a combined capacity of 270 MW are under construction in liberated areas, designated as green energy zones. “Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur can fully meet their energy needs with renewable sources such as water, wind, and solar. Eventually, any surplus could be exported,” Ibadov said, noting that the initiative frees up natural gas for other uses, saving 160 million cubic meters of gas this year and reducing the carbon footprint by 330,000 tons.

In a related development, Azerbaijan’s Cabinet of Ministers has allocated 229 hectares of state land in the Jabrayil district, part of the Eastern Zangazur economic region, for a 100 MW solar power plant, set to be built in two phases of 50 MW each. Azerbaijan aims to have 35% of its electricity generated from renewable sources by 2030, up from the current 20%, including hydroelectric power.