Deputy Minister of Energy Umid Madaminov said that the infrastructure in Uzbekistan is not ready for the commissioning of renewable energy facilities, Spot writes.

According to the official, by 2030 Uzbekistan needs at least 19 GW of wind and 10 GW of solar energy. However, he noted that the existing facilities are not ready to accommodate the increased capacity, stressing the need to invest in infrastructure.

“We are working on modernizing existing systems and additional construction of substations,” he said answering a question about the readiness of the energy infrastructure for renewable energy sources.

Currently, the share of renewable energy sources is 8% of the energy balance of Uzbekistan, including hydropower.

The official also said that currently 44 projects in the field of renewable energy sources are being discussed with investors. Their capacity will be 24 GW, of which a third will come from solar energy and the rest from wind. In addition, by the end of the year, it is planned to launch small hydroelectric power plants with a total capacity of 200 MW.

The Deputy Minister spoke separately about contracts in the energy sector concluded during Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s May visit to Germany. In particular, the contract amount for the supply of turbines to existing thermal power plants and financing the construction of an underground gas storage facility amounted to $4 billion.

Another 5 concluded agreements worth €2.3 billion related to the construction of photovoltaic, wind, and geothermal stations, as well as the digitalization of the energy sector.