Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Talks were held in Tashkent with a Hungarian delegation headed by Janos Shuli, Minister (without portfolio) and Director General of the Uzatom Agency under the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan on cooperation in the energy sector.

During the meeting, the Hungarian side was informed about the progress of reforms in the energy sector of Uzbekistan, including the development of generation projects based on renewable energy sources (RES). It was noted that in August this year, with the participation of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the first industrial solar photovoltaic station, built in Navoi region, was commissioned. The project was implemented by the independent energy producer Masdar (UAE).

It was also noted that the recent announcement of the results of an international tender for the construction of a 100 MW wind farm in the Republic of Karakalpakstan. The project investor was ACWA Power (Saudi Arabia) with a tariff of 2.5695 US cents per kWh of generated electricity.

For its part, the Hungarian delegation shared the experience of the electric power industry, including the energy of the peaceful atom. Today in Hungary, the country’s needs for electricity are provided by nuclear energy, namely the Paks NPP. Due to the fact that the planned decommissioning of the Paks power units will begin in 2032, Hungary has launched a project to build the Paks 2 nuclear power plant of the Russian design of the 3+ generation, consisting of two power units based on VVER-1200 reactors. The start-up of the first unit is scheduled for 2030, which will ensure the continuity of electricity generation.

It was noted that the Hungarian nuclear power plants of Russian design are reference (similar) to the first nuclear power plant, the project of which is being implemented in Uzbekistan. In this regard, for the Uzbek side, it is of great importance to study the Hungarian experience in the development of the peaceful atom sphere.

During the negotiations, an agreement was reached on attracting employees of the Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan and the Uzatom Agency to the construction sites of the PAKSH-2 NPP in order to study the progress of construction work in detail. In particular, the issue of training and advanced training of specialists was discussed, as well as training of Uzbek applicants at the Budapest University of Technical and Economic Sciences and the Dunaujvaros University on a grant basis in relevant areas.

Modern Hungary imports up to 30% of the generated electricity. In a country where one PAKSh NPP and all thermal power plants (TPPs) produce the same amount of electricity, the country’s parliament voted almost unanimously for the construction of the second NPP (94% of the votes).

Today, industrial-scale solar power plants with a total capacity of 2,400 MW, NPPs - 2,000 MW, thermal power plants - 2,000 MW, as well as wind power plants with a total capacity of 300 MW contribute to the total production capacity of the Hungarian power system.