02.01.2024

On January 2, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed a presentation on the work carried out in 2023 and the measures planned for 2024 to implement the investment policy and the increase the share of renewable energy sources in the energy sector.

It was noted that last year over US$22 billion of foreign investment were utilized, which is 1.8 times more than in the previous year.

Analyzing the work done, the President emphasized the importance of increasing the volume of foreign investments in the current year. Particular attention should be paid to the electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, construction materials, pharmaceutical, textile and leather industries.

The importance of targeted work with major investors, strengthening economic diplomacy and involving diplomatic missions abroad in attracting investments was particularly stressed.

The need for extensive use of special zones in the regions and opportunities for industrial cooperation in the implementation of new investment projects to create value-added chains was emphasized. Industrial and regional leaders are obliged to closely interact with industrial sectors in solving investment issues, strive for economic diversification in regions and create more new jobs.

Issues of effective use and timely allocation of funds from international financial institutions were addressed, and the need to prioritize these funds for social, infrastructure and water management projects was highlighted.

The need to activate the attraction of grants in the current year was also underscored, and the task was set to expand cooperation with foreign and international organizations in the fields of ecology, environmental protection, healthcare, higher education, science and innovation.

During the meeting, issues related to the development of green energy were also discussed.

Our country is currently working on 28 projects based on public-private partnerships for the construction of solar, wind and hybrid power plants with a total capacity of 6.3 gigawatts. Among them, the initial capacities of 7 projects with a total output of 2.6 gigawatts were launched in 2023.

In particular, at a ceremony attended by the Head of State on December 27 last year, the capacities of five solar photovoltaic stations in Samarkand, Jizzakh, Surkhandarya, Bukhara and Kashkadarya regions, as well as a wind power station in Navoi region, were connected to the grid.

At present, work is underway on 12 projects for the construction of green power plants and energy storage systems in collaboration with companies from countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, China, France and Switzerland.

During today's meeting, the tasks for the full completion by 2024 of the projects initiated last year, as well as plans for the creation of new green generation capacity in the coming years were discussed.

In particular, it is planned to increase the total capacity of photovoltaic power plants to 2.6 gigawatts, wind power plants to 900 megawatts, and launch energy storage facilities with a capacity of 400 megawatts by 2024.

In order to ensure the stable operation of the power system, taking into account the growing share of variable power generation capacity, the Head of State instructed to develop a concept for the development of power grids. The task was set to define measures for the modernization of existing networks, the construction of new substations and transmission lines, the implementation of modern automated protection systems, digital management systems (SCADA/EMS), and an increase in the share of backup capacities and energy storage systems.

The meeting also addressed issues related to increasing foreign direct investment in the energy sector.

In order to facilitate targeted work and expand investment cooperation with key foreign partners who are major investors in our country's energy sector, instructions were given to strengthen the activities of the Ministry of Energy in this direction.

It was instructed to study, on the basis of international experience, the possibility of introducing agrovoltaics - the practice of agricultural producers installing solar panels on their fields to produce energy for their own use or for sale - and to make specific proposals to support this area.