Tashkent (TDI): President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev launched the operation of 18 energy facilities and construction of six new projects.
The president attended a solemn ceremony on Friday dedicated to the launch of new energy capacities and the beginning of construction of various facilities.
These projects are part of a large-scale work aimed at strengthening the potential of Uzbekistan’s energy system.Last December, 5 solar and one wind power plants were put into operation.
Many new projects were initiated during Mirziyoyev’s visits to the regions.On Friday, total of 24 projects worth more than 7 billion dollars were launched.
In particular, in Bukhara, Navoi, Namangan and Tashkent regions, five solar and wind power plants with a total capacity of 2.3 thousand megawatts, as well as five high-voltage substations have been connected to the network.
For the first time in the country, an energy storage system with a capacity of three hundred megawatts was created in Andijan and Fergana.
A four hundred megawatt power plant was put into operation in Kashkadarya, and a modern cogeneration plant was opened in Tashkent, while in Andijan, Surkhandarya and Tashkent regions – 4 small hydroelectric power plants.
Moreover, construction of six energy facilities with a total capacity of 2.5 gigawatts has launched in Samarkand, Fergana, Navoi, Tashkent regions and Tashkent city.
These new projects will produce an additional 9.5 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, save 2.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas and prevent the emission of 4.6 million tons of harmful gases in the coming years.
Most importantly, more than four million households will be provided with clean and uninterrupted energy.This will also set the stage for four billion dollars worth of value creation in other sectors of the economy.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev stressed that all these projects are implemented through foreign direct investment.
Gratitude was expressed to firms from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, China and Germany, as well as global institutions such as the Islamic Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank for their fruitful cooperation.
Thanks to the open access of the private sector, Uzbekistan’s energy sector has attracted about twenty billion dollars of foreign direct investment over the past 5 years.
24 independent energy producers have started to operate in the sector, where previously only the state companies were present.
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In particular, large solar and wind power plants with a capacity of 3,500 megawatts, equivalent to ten billion kilowatt-hours, were launched in the green energy sector.
This increased the share of “green energy” in the energy system to 16%.
As is known, last year Uzbekistan’s GDP reached the historic figure of 100 billion dollars for the first time.
By 2030, the country’s economy should grow to 200 billion dollars.This will increase the demand for electricity by 1.5 times over the next 5 years.
In addition, under the Paris Agreement, it is planned to reduce harmful gas emissions by 35% by 2030.The President highlighted the priority areas of work in the energy sector.
First, 19000 megawatts of additional “green capacity” will be built by 2030, and the share of renewable energy will be increased to 54%. Already by 2025, eighteen solar and wind power plants with a capacity of 3.4 thousand megawatts and energy storage systems with a capacity of 1.8 thousand megawatts are planned.
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This will increase green energy production to twelve billion kilowatt-hours in 2025.
Also within two years, a large-scale project will be implemented in cooperation with private partners to create over two thousand small and micro-hydroelectric power plants.
Second, liberalization of the electricity market will continue. By the end of 2025, it is planned to create a competitive wholesale electricity market.
Public-private partnership will be introduced in the sphere of energy distribution, and 4 billion dollars of investments will be attracted for the modernization of networks.
The first project of transferring the management of regional power grids to the private sector has been devised in Samarkand region, and an international tender has been announced.
Within COP-29, deals were inked with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia on joint export of “green energy” to Europe. Jointly with neighboring nations a single platform has been launched to ensure the stability of the regional energy system.
Solar panels with a total capacity of one thousand megawatts have already been installed, which makes it possible to produce 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.
Minister of Energy and Infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Türkiye Alparslan Bayraktar and Minister of Energy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud addressed the ceremony.
By pressing a symbolic switch, President Mirziyoyev launched the operation of eighteen energy facilities and construction of six new projects.
