Uzbekistan’s hydropower potential is growing, and the Central Asian country is looking to boost energy efficiency and increase renewable energy’s share in the country’s energy mix with the help of the European Union, the chairman of Uzbekistan’s state hydropower producer and developer, Uzbekhydroenergo, Abdugani Sanginov, told New Europe in an exclusive interview.
“Hydropower is a renewable energy source and, in this regard, an increase in the share of hydropower in the energy balance of the Republic of Uzbekistan will help reduce the effects of climate change,” Sanginov said, adding that the technically feasible hydropower potential of Uzbekistan is estimated at 27.4 billion kWh per year and currently only 24% of this potential is used.
Asked what role the EU can play in supporting renewable energy in Uzbekistan, the Uzbekhydroenergo Chairman said, “The European Union can play an important role in supporting RES in Uzbekistan by providing grants and soft loans for the development of RES in Uzbekistan”.
French state-owned power generating company EDF and Uzbekhydroenergo have recently discussed signing a future, formal Memorandum of Understanding which would create a deeper relationship between Uzbekistan’s state hydropower producer and EDF.
EDF, which is the largest state-owned power generating company in France and the world’s largest nuclear power plant operator, and Uzbekhydroenergo also reached preliminary agreements on operational ventures and organizational collaboration, specifically construction of a pumped storage power plant (PSP) for the first time in Uzbekistan, installation of floating solar stations on reservoirs and the creation of special working groups to discuss key organizational issues.
Uzbekhydroenergo is exploring plans to build a 200 MW PSP, in the Bostanlyk district of the Tashkent region.
“The advantage of the partnership for Uzbekhydroenergo JSC with the French company EDF is that it has extensive experience in the design and operation of hydroelectric power plants, in this regard, Uzbekistan can learn innovative solutions in the design and operation of hydroelectric power plants,” Sanginov told New Europe.
Asked what caused the boom in the development of renewable energy sources in Uzbekistan compared to its Central Asian neighbors, Sanginov noted, “Uzbekistan has a huge potential for the development of renewable energy sources, in this regard, the government of the Republic of Uzbekistan has set the task of increasing the share of renewable energy sources in the energy balance of Uzbekistan to 20% by 2030”.
