Uzbekistan to increase renewables deployment, followed by new strategy

The President of Uzbekistan has adopted a Resolution "On measures to accelerate the introduction of renewable energy sources and energy-saving technologies in 2023", Uzbekistan’s Energy Ministry reports.

According to the Resolution, Uzbekistan will put into operation large solar and wind power plants – with a capacity of 2,100 MW, solar panels installed on buildings and structures of social facilities and economic entities, households – with a capacity of 1,200 MW, small solar power plants installed by entrepreneurs - with a capacity of 550 MW.

The plants and panels will produce additional 5 billion kWh of electric energy, by saving 4.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

The financing of this project amounted to about $15.4 billion. The Uzbek government plans to allocate $100 million from the State budget, while the rest of the costs will be covered by: funds from investors within the framework of public-private partnership projects – $13.4 billion; loans from commercial banks – $1.1 billion; funds of enterprises – $610 million; funds of foreign financial organizations – $150 million.

Earlier in February, Uzbekistan put into operation a new solar power unit with a total capacity of 1.3 MW in the Sirdaryo region’s thermal power plant. The unit will generate an additional 2.3 million kWh of electricity. As a result, 750,000 cubic meters of natural gas will be saved and the emissions will be also reduced.