Modernizing land policy to accelerate Azerbaijan’s clean energy push |
Azerbaijan is preparing legal changes that could transform large areas of agricultural land into sites for renewable energy while keeping those lands’ existing category and primary use. The amendment, highlighted in the newly published Nationally Determined Contribution 3.0 report, would enable the deployment of utility-scale solar and onshore wind on farmland without requiring land reclassification or restricting farming activities. This measure is part of a wider package that the government sees as essential for modernizing the power system and meeting growing electrification needs.
The planned amendments to the Land Code and the Law on the Use of Renewable Energy Sources in Electricity Generation remove a legal barrier that has limited large renewable installations on agricultural parcels. By permitting renewable facilities to co-exist with the land’s agricultural designation, policymakers expect to accelerate permitting, reduce land use conflicts, and unlock new private investment in distributed and utility-scale projects. The official update is presented as part of NDC 3.0, which frames these changes as necessary to avoid a growing emissions gap as electrification of transport, buildings, and industry increases electricity demand.
The NDC 3.0 report makes clear why this matters. The energy sector remains Azerbaijan’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions at around 21 percent of the national total. While the country benefited from switching from fuel oil to gas and from having no coal power generation, the report stresses that efficiency improvements, network modernization, and expansion of solar and wind capacity are central to avoiding increases in emissions as the economy electrifies. Key measures through 2035 include smart grid rollouts, strengthening overhead lines and substations, wide deployment of solar and onshore wind, and introduction of long-duration energy storage systems for large-scale renewables.
What similar policies look like in exemplary countries?
Across Europe and in Türkiye, policy makers and utilities have encouraged a mix of rooftop, agrivoltaic and utility scale solar to boost energy independence and encourage household-level........