Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan has signed agreements for six major energy projects worth US$4.7 billion, which are expected to add 3,000 MW of generation capacity and 400 MW of energy storage capacity, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said during an open dialogue with investors in the fuel and energy sector.
Mirziyoyev described energy as the heart of the country's development, stressing that reliable electricity supplies are essential for business investment and public confidence in the future.
Over the past decade, Uzbekistan has opened its energy market to private investment and introduced public-private partnership mechanisms to address accumulated sector problems, modernise ageing facilities and meet rising demand. The sector has attracted US$35 billion in investment during this period, while the number of partner countries has increased from two or three to more than 10.
The expansion of solar, wind and hydropower generation has raised renewable energy's share of total electricity generation to 31%. Installed capacity at renewable energy facilities has reached 11.1 GW. Electricity production per capita has increased by 28% to 2,300 kWh.
The president said the sector was entering a new phase of cooperation with investors. Projects should not only add generation capacity but also improve supply reliability and reduce electricity losses.
Uzbekistan aims to develop 22,000 MW of new capacity by 2030. Annual electricity production is expected to exceed 129 billion kWh, while renewables are targeted to account for 54% of generation.
A recently signed presidential decree clearly separates the roles of the state and private businesses in the fuel and energy sector. At the new stage, projects will be implemented through open competition, transparent rules and consistent fulfilment of agreed terms.
During the initial phase of accelerating renewable energy development, projects were mainly located in regions proposed by investors. This helped attract substantial investment, but in some areas generation capacity became concentrated, increasing the cost of transmitting electricity to other regions.
“We need not individual power plants, but a single, interconnected energy system,” Mirziyoyev said.
Going forward, regional capacity requirements will be determined in advance, and prepared projects will be put out to open tender. Information on land plots, grid connection points and schedules, electricity procurement conditions and payment terms will be published before each tender. All investors will face equal requirements, while mechanisms to ensure payment discipline and reduce risks will be strengthened.
Tenders for six solar and wind power projects with a combined capacity of 2,200 MW will be announced soon. The president invited investors to participate.
Uzbekistan will also develop and publish its first National Energy Master Plan through 2050. A grid connection opportunities map is scheduled to be presented by 1 March next year, followed by the complete master plan by 1 July.
The documents will identify regions where electricity demand is expected to grow, the infrastructure required to meet that demand and locations where new generation facilities can operate most efficiently. This is intended to help investors plan their activities over the long term.
Renewable energy producers will also be given opportunities to generate additional revenue through certificates and carbon credits. Mechanisms will be introduced to ensure a fair distribution of the resulting benefits between the state and investors, taking full account of international environmental commitments and existing agreements.
Mirziyoyev stressed that developing power plants alone would not be sufficient; the networks needed to deliver electricity to consumers must also be expanded. Generation, transmission and energy storage systems must operate as an integrated whole.
The Ferghana, Andijan and Namangan regions currently meet part of their electricity demand through supplies generated elsewhere in the country. The development of new industrial zones and large enterprises will place additional pressure on the power grid.
Artificial intelligence technologies and data centres are among the areas driving rapidly growing electricity demand. Sites for these facilities will be selected in advance based on land availability, grid connection opportunities and access to renewable energy.
Each major data centre project must incorporate primary and backup power supplies, energy storage systems and cooling infrastructure. Investors are expected to adopt solutions that use electricity and water efficiently.
More than US$2 billion has been allocated to electricity grid modernisation over the past five years. The next major priority is to upgrade network infrastructure and expand energy storage capacity.
By 2030, Uzbekistan plans to build 5,000 kilometres of power lines and 16 major substations, while increasing energy storage capacity to 4.5 GW. A significant share of these projects will be implemented in Karakalpakstan and the Bukhara, Jizzakh, Samarkand, Namangan, Kashkadarya and Tashkent regions.
Going forward, priority will be given to integrated projects combining generation, energy storage and electricity networks. Uzbekistan also plans to cooperate with investors on pumped-storage hydropower plants designed for long-term energy storage.
The country is looking beyond its domestic energy market. A project to supply renewable electricity to Europe across the Caspian Sea, in cooperation with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, is moving towards practical implementation. Afghanistan and South Asian markets have also been identified as promising destinations.
Legislation provides 10-year land and property tax exemptions for energy storage projects. To eliminate differing interpretations of these provisions, the Tax Code will explicitly state that the exemptions cover not only sites containing batteries or solar panels but also the necessary substations, control buildings and supporting infrastructure.
Private sector participation in electricity distribution networks will also be expanded. The approach introduced in Samarkand is expected to be extended to the Jizzakh and Tashkent regions, with the aim of reducing electricity losses and improving service quality.
“The cheapest energy is energy saved,” Mirziyoyev said.
The government also plans to attract private investment to modernise social infrastructure facilities and water management pumping stations using energy-efficient technologies. Investors will be able to generate revenue from energy savings and carbon credits.
The president said Uzbekistan was entering international energy markets by drawing on its own capabilities, including natural resources, industrial enterprises, engineers and an educated young population. Combined with investment and advanced technologies, these assets could generate significantly greater added value.
The concept of “O‘Z”, he said, centres on developing domestic potential, cooperating with the world on equal terms and taking responsibility for a shared future.
Energy projects require substantial quantities of copper products, cables, transformers, metal structures and construction materials. Mirziyoyev said domestic manufacturers were capable of competing on quality, price and compliance with standards.
Chinese company China Energy used locally manufactured products for nearly 40% of the equipment and materials involved in building eight energy storage facilities. Their value amounted to about US$200 million. Last year, the combined value of locally sourced goods and services across all energy sector investment projects reached US$740 million.
The president said this figure could be increased threefold to fourfold. The Agency for Industrial Cooperation and local associations will work with manufacturers to identify the products investors need, establish quality and volume requirements, and organise supplies.
Uzbekistan currently imports significant quantities of high-voltage equipment, energy storage system control modules and wind turbine components. Twelve potential localisation projects worth a combined US$850 million have been prepared to establish domestic production of these items.
A special industrial zone with tax and customs incentives will be established in the Farish district of Jizzakh region to manufacture new products required for the nuclear power plant under construction there.
Mirziyoyev invited investors to participate in these projects as well.
In the oil and gas sector, cooperation will be expanded in geological exploration, improving field efficiency and deep processing of raw materials.
Exploration is currently under way in six investment blocks in the Ustyurt region in cooperation with Azerbaijan's SOCAR and British company BP. Another 128 blocks in other regions have been prepared for presentation to foreign partners.
Preliminary estimates put the resources in these blocks at 5.8 trillion cubic metres of natural gas and 560 million tonnes of liquid hydrocarbons. Competition, transparency and economic efficiency will be the main criteria for developing these resources.
The president stressed that Uzbekistan should go beyond generating electricity from natural gas and focus on processing it more deeply to create greater added value. The Kashkadarya region's synthetic liquid fuel production complex currently produces up to 1.5 million tonnes of fuel and other products annually.
He also highlighted the need to implement the MTO project in the Bukhara region, which envisages the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and PET products. The Bukhara and Ferghana oil refineries are also scheduled for modernisation.
Mirziyoyev said he expected investors to propose economically viable projects based on new technologies and meeting environmental requirements.
Around 3.8 million households in Uzbekistan use liquefied petroleum gas. Market mechanisms are gradually being introduced in this sector, which was previously a state monopoly.
A pilot project involving private businesses has been launched in the Andijan region. Next year, the government plans to transfer liquefied gas supplies to the private sector nationwide.
The president stressed that uninterrupted supplies, safety and service quality must remain the main priorities throughout this transition.
The effective operation of new energy facilities also depends on a skilled workforce. Saudi company ACWA is beginning to equip technical colleges in Karakalpakstan and the Bukhara and Syrdarya regions, while training hundreds of young specialists each year in new energy-related fields.
Mirziyoyev called on other investors to participate in training specialists who meet international standards and the needs of their projects. The government has expressed its readiness to transfer local technical colleges to investors' management for this purpose.
From the new academic year, domestic universities will increase admission quotas for energy-related programmes. In addition, 50 young people will receive state grants each year to study at leading universities worldwide.
Energy projects require substantial investment and complex infrastructure. Even a single delay in allocating land, connecting a facility to the grid or issuing technical specifications can affect the implementation of an entire project.
Companies including ACWA, Vision Invest, DataVolt, Voltalia and EDF proposed addressing such issues through ongoing dialogue.
In response, the president announced the establishment of an Investors' Council for the fuel and energy sector, to be chaired by Presidential Administration head Saida Mirziyoyeva.
The council will promptly address issues investors encounter at every stage of project implementation, from land allocation to commissioning.
“We view energy not simply as one of the sectors of the economy. It is a solid foundation for our future and well-being. We need not just investment, but mutual trust and genuine partnership based on a sincere commitment to cooperation. That is the main purpose of today's meeting.
“Every new project must bring tangible changes to our regions and create a solid foundation for people to build their lives, develop their businesses and achieve progress. Therefore, the main principle of our cooperation is simple: the greater the contribution your investments make to our country's development, the more opportunities its development will create for your own success.
“True partnership means mutual trust, mutual responsibility and mutual benefit,” the president said.
Mirziyoyev expressed his readiness to consider well-founded proposals from investors, resolve emerging problems and support new initiatives. The meeting concluded with a direct dialogue between the president and investors.
