UAE renewables developer Masdar is expanding operations in Azerbaijan by establishing a base of operations in Baku, according to a company statement. The new base is part of the company’s plan to expand operations in the country and increase its capacity and scope of work in the country, Chairman Sultan Al Jaber says in the statement.

Masdar has a pipeline exceeding 10 GW in the works: Masdar signed an agreement with Azerbaijan’s state oil firm SOCAR to develop renewables projects with a combined capacity of 4 GW in January. These include the joint development of offshore wind energy and hydrogen projects with a capacity of 2 GW, solar photovoltaic energy projects with a capacity of 1 GW, and 1 GW of onshore wind energy. This forms part of a broader agreement between the clean energy firm and Azerbaijan’s Energy Ministry to build a renewables program with a total capacity of 10 GW, “across multiple technologies,” the statement notes. Masdar reached financial close in August for the 230 MW Garadagh solar PV plant — its first project in the Central Asian country — due to begin commercial operation in 2023.

Azerbaijan has been angling for green FDI: The country signed a cooperation agreement for a 1.5 GW offshore wind project with Tadawul-listed Acwa Power earlier this week and broke ground on a 240 MW wind project with the KSA energy giant last month. The projects are part of a partnership to build wind farms with a combined capacity of 2.5 GW and develop the country’s first battery storage systems. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev last week to discuss cooperation on renewable energy and Egypt’s renewables and hydrogen generation capacity on his first state visit to the country.

The UAE may be throwing in help to integrate renewable energy on the grid: Chairman of the Board of Azerbaijani Energy Regulatory Agency met with the transmission and distribution executive director of UAE’s state-owned Taqa this week to discuss the integration of renewable energy sources into the country’s energy network, according to AzerNews.