Uzbekistan Aims to Increase Renewable Energy Share to 54% by 2030, Says President

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has revealed plans to increase the share of renewable energy sources in the country's energy mix to 54% by 2030, along with efforts to strengthen regional cooperation in the field of the green economy, The Caspian Post reports citing Interfax.

"We plan to increase the share of renewable energy sources in our country to 54% by 2030," Mirziyoyev said on Tuesday at the Abu Dhabi Sustainable Development Week summit, with the text of the speech posted on the presidential website.

Mirziyoyev said that nearly $20 billion in foreign investment has been attracted to Uzbekistan's energy sector over the past five years, and energy capacity totaling 9.6 GW has been commissioned. Particularly, 14 solar and wind power plants with capacity of 3.5 GW and two energy storage systems of 300 MW have been built. Currently, over 50 large green projects worth over $26 billion are being implemented jointly with foreign partners to produce 24 GW of electricity overall.

"Green development in Uzbekistan has been raised to the level of a nationwide movement today," the president said.

The share of fossil fuels in electricity generation in the country is currently around 70%, and renewable sources provide 25%-30% of overall consumption.

Mirziyoyev also said that Uzbekistan intends to solidify regional cooperation in this area further and turn Central Asia into one of the centers for developing the green economy and clean energy.

Mirziyoyev said that the United Arab Emirates is Uzbekistan's strategic partner in the area of renewable energy.

"The investment portfolio with the Emirates has exceeded $26 billion in recent years, and renewable energy projects are the driving force in it," he said.

Consequently, five generating facilities with capacity of 1.5 GW have been commissioned, three projects will be implemented to create generating capacity of 1.6 GW, and energy storage systems with capacity of around 520 MW have been built with the support of the UAE's Masdar state company for renewable energy sources.

Uzbekistan is implementing similar projects jointly with other leading companies from the UAE, as well as partners from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, and China, Mirziyoyev also said.