22.11.2021

On November 22, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting on expanding the use and development of renewable energy sources.

As it is well-known, the reserves of traditional energy sources such as oil and gas are limited. In addition, their use causes great harm to the environment. Therefore, developed countries have started the transition to «green» energy, which is the key to stable development both today and in the future.

The extensive work in this direction has also begun in our country. Thus, on May 21, 2019, the Law «On the Use of Renewable Energy Sources» was adopted, which had laid the necessary foundations for the development of the sphere. Foreign investors have been attracted, many promising projects have been developed.

In August this year, the first solar photovoltaic station in the country was launched in the Navoi Region. Another such station in Samarkand will be put into operation next month.

In general, in 2022-2024, it is planned to build 10 solar and wind power plants with a total capacity of about 3,000 megawatts through foreign direct investment in the amount of $3 billion.

At the recent international climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Uzbekistan announced its intention to reduce the specific greenhouse gas emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 35% by 2030. There is every reason for this. In particular, by 2026, the goal was set to increase the total capacity of solar and wind power plants in the country to 8,000 megawatts.

At today’s meeting, the tasks to be completed to achieve the goal, financial and organizational aspects were discussed.

Next year, it is envisioned to build 5 solar power plants with a total capacity of 900 megawatts in Khorezm, Bukhara, Kashkadarya, Namangan and Fergana Regions.

The President instructed to give these projects a priority attention and ensure their timely launch. The Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade and the Ministry of Energy were instructed to develop the new projects in cooperation with international financial organizations.

The President has also noted the need for large industrial enterprises to develop renewable energy sources for their own supply. It was also indicated that the use of renewable energy sources by the population and entrepreneurs should be encouraged.

As it was noted at the meeting, the organization of the production of components and materials necessary for the future construction of solar and wind power plants in Uzbekistan itself will reduce the cost of projects, as well as create a market for domestic enterprises. In this regard, it was instructed to develop a program for the localization of these products.

A high-quality operation of new power plants will require qualified engineers and workers. Stressing that work in this direction should be started now, the President instructed to create a special training center in the city of Navoi and update the curricula of universities in line with modern requirements.

The Strategy for the Development of Renewable Energy Sources in Uzbekistan was presented at the meeting.