Solving the Green Riddle: Prospects and Challenges for Reforming the Alternative and Renewable Energy Sector in Azerbaijan (Research Brief)

In the promotion of a nascent industry, regulation can play an important supporting role. Azerbaijan’s fledgling alternative and renewable energy sector is poised for fast, short-term growth, if the government is able to draft, pass, and enforce proper regulations that will promote, support, incentivize, and raise public awareness of the abundant wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, and small-scale hydroelectric energy potential. Fossil fuels stand squarely at the heart of Azerbaijan’s economy and political hierarchy, but Azerbaijan can be seen as a model for other net hydrocarbon exporters as its rising clean energy sector can best be viewed as an alternative that is emerging as a byproduct of, rather than in opposition to, the oil and gas industry. This research brief looks at the challenges to proper alternative energy regulatory reform and offers policy prescriptions for the Azerbaijani government.

Download the pdf at the top of this page for the full brief.

Blake L. Ratcliff, of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, was a 2010-11 Embassy Policy Specialist (EPS) fellow.