President: Share of Renewable Energy in Uzbekistan to Reach 54% by 2030

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — A ceremonial launch of new energy facilities and the start of construction for additional projects took place at the International Congress Center with the participation of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

“Today, driven by the rapid growth of our economy and the needs of our population and all sectors, we are implementing large-scale reforms in the energy system. We have set two key goals: first, to ensure reliable and uninterrupted power supply to all sectors and regions; second, to achieve this through modern, environmentally friendly, and renewable energy sources,” the President stated.

Over the past few years, $35 billion in foreign investments have been attracted to the energy sector, and 9,000 megawatts of new generation capacity have been commissioned. Electricity production has increased from 60 billion kWh in 2017 to 85 billion kWh this year.

Notably, solar and wind plants with a combined capacity of nearly 5,000 megawatts, along with 400 megawatts of hydropower capacity, have been launched. The share of green energy in total generation is expected to reach 30% this year. Small solar panels with a total capacity of 2,000 megawatts have also been installed in private households and social facilities, generating nearly 2 billion kWh of additional alternative energy in 2025 alone. Additionally, 69,000 km of power grids, 14,000 transformers, and high-voltage substations have been upgraded across regions.

These developments have provided a significant boost to domestic enterprises. Since the beginning of the year, they have supplied construction materials, metal structures, cables, and electrical equipment for power plants and networks worth $700 million, as well as provided engineering and construction services. For example, the first 38 MW hydropower plant in the Naryn cascade was fully commissioned using local products.

President Mirziyoyev expressed confidence that construction, electrical engineering, and service companies operating in the energy sector will evolve into major national corporations meeting international standards.

“In this context, enterprises such as Angren Energo, which will produce 15,000 transformers annually, and O‘zHydropower, capable of producing 155 hydro units, have significant potential,” the President noted.

The President emphasized the crucial role of reliable partners and major investors in achieving these successes. He expressed gratitude to countries and companies investing in advanced technologies, including Saudi ACWA Power, Turkish AKSA and Cengiz Enerji, UAE Masdar, Chinese China Energy, Datang, Sinoma, Poly, CNTIC, Eagle Rise, French EDF, Voltalia, Total Energies, German Siemens Energy, Qatari Nebras, as well as the World Bank, EBRD, ADB, AIIB, Islamic Development Bank, and other financial institutions.

The ceremony included the commissioning of 42 new generation and infrastructure facilities worth nearly $11 billion and the start of 21 additional projects. In particular, 16 solar, wind, thermal, and hydropower plants with a combined capacity of 3,500 MW were commissioned this year, producing 15 billion kWh annually once fully operational. Green generation is expected to reach 23 billion kWh next year — enough to meet the entire annual electricity consumption of Uzbekistan’s population.

Thanks to renewable energy, natural gas consumption will decrease by nearly 7 billion cubic meters, and harmful emissions will be reduced by 11 million tons. Ten energy storage systems with a total capacity of 1,245 MW will supply an additional 1.5 billion kWh to the grid during peak hours. Eleven major substations and 420 km of high-voltage lines will ensure grid stability.

“We will not stop here. Over the next five years, more than $150 billion in foreign investments will be used to launch thousands of industrial and infrastructure projects, creating high-income jobs,” the President said.

Over 800,000 energy-efficient apartments will be built in the “New Uzbekistan” districts and other regions. The government is also creating favorable conditions for the development of IT, AI, and IoT, including expanding modern supercomputer clusters and data centers. Saudi company Data-Volt has started building a 500 MW data center valued at $3 billion, which will increase electricity demand by at least 1.5 times.

To meet growing electricity demand, over 17,000 MW of additional renewable capacity will be commissioned by 2030, bringing the share of green energy in total generation to 54%. Projects totaling 3.5 GW in Karakalpakstan, Bukhara, Kashkadarya, and Tashkent regions, worth $3.3 billion, will contribute to this goal. Six thousand km of high-voltage transmission lines will be constructed to integrate the new capacity, including 1,000 km next year and 6,000 MW of additional substation capacity.

President Mirziyoyev highlighted the success of public-private partnerships in directly attracting foreign investment to electricity generation and distribution. Notably, an agreement with Turkish Aksa Elektrik was reached for private management of Samarkand regional power grids, involving investments, infrastructure modernization, and gradual halving of network losses, saving an average of $20 million annually. Similar projects will be offered to investors in Jizzakh and Syrdarya regions next year and Namangan and Tashkent regions in 2027.

Support for households in adopting renewable energy will continue. Solar power plants totaling 107 MW will be installed in 300 mahallas next year based on Chinese experience. Once fully implemented, 30,000 low-income families will benefit, with the ability to sell excess electricity to the grid.

Entrepreneurs are also efficiently using water resources: small and micro hydropower plants with a total capacity of 40 MW generated 120 million kWh this year, providing additional income. Next year, 65 MW of new small and micro hydropower plants will be built, improving electricity supply for 80,000 households.

“At the recent COP-30 climate conference in Brazil, we voluntarily committed under the Paris Agreement to reduce harmful gas emissions by 50% by 2035,” the President concluded.

In this direction, the first-ever innovative project ICRAFT was launched jointly with the World Bank. The project takes into account Uzbekistan’s reduction of 23 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions and has initiated international trading of carbon credits.

This year, 17 major industrial enterprises have already transitioned to international certification under the “green energy” system. Within the next two years, the number of such enterprises is expected to reach 100.

The President noted strengthened partnerships with neighboring countries to establish a unified energy market.

“To effectively utilize the hydroelectric potential of our region and manage it jointly, next year we will begin financing the Kambar-Ata HPP-1 project in collaboration with Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. At the same time, I want to particularly emphasize the decisive efforts of the leadership of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, who are closely cooperating with us within the framework of the ‘green corridor’ project for electricity exports to Europe,” the President said.

“All the projects we are launching today will contribute to economic growth and open new opportunities for future generations. Through such active measures and initiatives, we will undoubtedly fully establish a modern, next-generation energy system. I want to once again sincerely thank all energy specialists, workers, engineers, and our foreign partners who are actively participating in the implementation of these projects,” the Head of State concluded.

At the ceremony, ministers of energy and executives from partner countries also addressed the audience. President of Uzbekistan symbolically pressed the button, commissioning 42 energy facilities and giving the start to the construction of 21 new projects.