TASHKENT

Uzbekistan, emboldened by a string of successful deals with international clean energy companies to build solar and wind power plants, increased its renewable energy target to a total of 12 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.

The populous Central Asian country now hopes to increase its photovoltaic (PV) solar plant capacity from the current forecast of 5 GW to 7 GW and wind power generation from 3 GW to 5 GW, according to its updated energy development concept.

Despite the COVID-19 related economic slowdown of 2020, demand for power continues to grow. The Uzbek Energy ministry decided to reconsider its initial 2030 power capacity targets by increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix of Uzbekistan, the ministry said in a statement.

“Low tariffs, obtained through the competitive process in the latest Photovoltaics (PV) tenders have brought optimism to the Ministry of Energy on the cost structure of ultimate tariffs for businesses and households,” it said.

The initial document set out plans to rebuild Uzbekistan’s existing power plants, invited private power developers to take part in power sector development to increase power production capacity, and laid out plans to deepen reforms in the energy sector. According to the document, a significant share of power generation will be assigned to PV and wind renewable power sources.

Since then, with the assistance of international donor organisations including the World Bank, International Finance Corporation, Asian Development Bank and EBRD, Uzbekistan has signed sixteen agreements with various private power producers to build PV, wind, gas engine and CCGT power plants Uzbekistan.

“We at the Ministry of Energy are working hard to increase the efficiency of existing infrastructure and constantly looking for opportunities to ensure the uninterrupted supply of electricity both to the population and the country’s growing and diversifying industries. Recent tenders showed some previously hidden potential in the renewables sector, and we are confident that exploiting this potential will be successful,” Energy Minister Alisher Sultanov said.

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC (Masdar), one of the leading renewable energy companies in the world, has become the largest investor in Uzbekistan’s renewable energy sector. It has five project portfolios with a total value of over $2.4 billion and more than 2.5 megawatts projected capacity.

Other companies involved in developing clean energy include France’s Total Eren, Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power.

The list of Uzbekistan’s currently ongoing projects in renewable energy sector with a total capacity of 2 797 MW:

1. Construction of a photovoltaic station with a capacity of 100 MW in the Navoi region. Commissioning date: September 2021
2. Construction of a photovoltaic station with a capacity of 100 MW in the Samarkand region. Commissioning date: December 2021
3. Construction of a wind farm with a capacity of 500 MW in the Navoi region. Commissioning date: September 2024
4. Construction of 2 wind power plants with a total capacity of 1000 MW in the Bukhara region. Commissioning date: December 2023
5. Construction of a 200 MW photovoltaic plant in the Nurata district of the Navoi region. Commissioning date: 2nd quarter of 2023.
6. Construction of a photovoltaic station with a capacity of 457 MW in the Surkhandarya region. Commissioning date: 2nd quarter of 2023.
7. Construction of 2 photovoltaic stations with a capacity of 220 MW each in Samarkand and Jizzakh regions. Commissioning date: 4th quarter of 2022.