Azerbaijan's Renewable Output Hits 4.2bn kWh in 9 Months

Azerbaijan generated 4.2309 billion kWh of electricity from renewable sources, hydropower included, in the first nine months of 2026, up 1.0519 billion kWh on the same period of 2025, according to operational data from the Ministry of Energy reported by Trend on 14 October 2026. Total generation fell 2.8%, or 607.8 million kWh, to 21.1909 billion kWh.

By CBJ's calculation, renewables supplied about 20% of all electricity produced, while thermal plants delivered 16.96 billion kWh. The numbers are consistent with new wind and hydro output covering part of what thermal plants produced a year earlier, although the ministry data as reported do not say so.

Wind and hydro drive the gain

Wind generation reached 768.7 million kWh, up 698.4 million kWh, which implies output roughly eleven times higher than in January to September 2025. Hydropower produced 2.7671 billion kWh, up 352.8 million kWh. Solar supplied 501.5 million kWh and the household waste incineration plant 193.6 million kWh, up 10.2 million kWh.

The changes reported for hydro, wind and waste together add up to slightly more than the total renewable gain of 1.0519 billion kWh. That implies a small year-on-year fall in solar output of roughly 10 million kWh, which the data as published do not spell out.

Azerenergy produced 18.2334 billion kWh, including 2.7531 billion kWh of hydro and 45.5 million kWh of solar. Independent power plants produced 2.9575 billion kWh. Exports were 301.6 million kWh and imports 170.6 million kWh.

What the third quarter added

Trend reported on 18 July 2026 that renewables including hydro produced 2.794 billion kWh in January to June, with wind at 475.7 million kWh and solar at 282.7 million kWh. Subtracting those figures from the nine-month totals gives a July to September contribution of about 1.437 billion kWh from renewables, including about 293 million kWh from wind and about 219 million kWh from solar. This is a CBJ calculation from two separate ministry releases, not a published quarterly figure.

Capacity on the grid

Installed renewable capacity stands at 2,170 MW across 85 plants, about 21.5% of total installed generation capacity, the ministry data show. Hydro accounts for 65 plants and 1,443.5 MW, solar for 10 plants and 378.2 MW, wind for 6 plants and 306.5 MW, and biomass for one plant of 37 MW. Planned renewable projects add up to about 1.5 GW by the end of 2027.

Azerbaijan has set a goal of 8 GW of renewable capacity by 2032, a target CBJ covered when it was restated at the United Nations on 13 October 2026. Newer plants such as the 240 MW Shafag solar plant, which CBJ reported as commissioned, bear on the solar line, which has so far lagged wind in the generation figures.

What to watch

• Whether solar output turns up as Shafag and other plants feed in fully, and whether the apparent small decline is confirmed in the full-year data.
• Hydro dependence: water-driven output can swing with rainfall and reservoir levels, so a dry quarter could reverse part of the gain.
• How quickly the 1.5 GW of planned projects reaches the grid, and whether thermal output keeps falling as a result.

Sources: Trend, 14 October 2026; Trend, 18 July 2026