In the next 10 years, Uzbekistan plans to build about 25 solar power plants (SPP), Deputy Minister of Energy Sherzod Khadjayev said.

“We plan to build about 25 solar stations by 2030,” noted Khadjayev. According to him, the country's first 100 MW solar power plant is scheduled to be commissioned in the Navoi region. 

“In accordance with the schedule, we will start construction works this year and complete them within two years,” the Deputy Minister said.

He noted that 23 applications from “serious investors” were received to participate in the tender for construction of this power plant. In the future, it is planned to hold 3-4 such tenders annually.

Earlier it was announced that the first SPP in the country would appear in the Samarkand region. However, the Chinese company Zhuhai Singyes Green Building Technology, which won the tender for construction of a power plant in 2016, was refused due to “obsolete technologies”. Last year, it also became known that the Canadian company SkyPower Global expressed intention to invest $1.3 billion in the construction of SPP with a total capacity of 1000 MW.

As Khadjayev says, without attracting capital into the electricity industry, it will be very difficult to achieve competition and introduce new technologies. So it was decided to produce electricity based on renewable energy sources (RES) exclusively through foreign direct investment.

In 2019, Uzbekistan plans to generate 67.5 billion kWh of electricity, and in 2030, the figure is expected to reach 120 billion kWh, Khadjaev added. This is more than predicted by the First Deputy Chairman of the Board of the reorganized Uzbekenergo Ruslan Mubarakshin.

In Uzbekistan, electricity is produced mainly by burning natural gas, which accounts for about 93% in the structure of fuel consumption at Uzbekenergo power plants, the share of RES does not exceed 1%.