Uzbekistan has an “ambitious goal” to bring the share of renewable energy sources to 18% in total electricity production by the end of this year, energy minister Jurabek Mirzamahmudov said at the Energy Week (UEW 2024) which opened in Tashkent on 14 May.
“When we talk about renewable energy sources, we are considering only solar and wind energy, which should account for 40% of our energy balance by 2030 thanks to launch of 25 GW of solar and wind power stations,” he said.
Jurabek Mirzamahmudov noted that on Sunday, 12 May, Uzbekistan already achieved 18% of solar and wind generation owing to introduction of new stations.
“Of course, the demand was not big, but we managed to reach this figure. So these 18% by year end are in fact attainable because we will launch solar stations for 2000 MW and wind stations for 600 MW. Additionally, we will launch energy storage systems for 300 MW by the end of the year,” the minister stated.
The next step of the energy reforms will be to engage private investors in the electricity distribution network and to double energy efficiency.
Moreover, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are planning to export green energy to Europe, including Hungary and Romania, Jurabek Mirzamahmudov said.
“We are moving to the next stage of our reforms, including in the energy sector, and these reforms are complex. But, as our president had said, reforms cannot be carried out on our own. We can only implement reforms with our friends, neighbors, partners, and investors. That is why I would like to welcome everybody who supports our reforms, who participates today, and who supports investments in the energy sector,” he emphasized.
Earlier plans included achieving 13 billion kWh green energy generation, or 15% in total energy balance, in 2024. In February, president Shavkat Mirziyoyev expressed dissatisfaction with plans in the field of alternative energy, and instructed to speed up the launch of 14 solar and wind power stations, as well as start two pumped hydroelectric energy storage projects.
