EBRD Renewable Energy Initiative

Uzbekistan

Country Profile

____

____

Uzbekistan has extensive oil and gas resources which result in low tariffs and a lack of incentive on the government’s part to develop renewable sources with the exception of hydropower. At present, there are plans in place to further develop the power industry by building natural gas thermal power plants and hydropower plants. Hydropower accounts for 13 percent of the total generating capacity and is a state priority for further development. The other renewable energy technologies will compete against these technologies without government assistance. The main barrier will be the extremely low feed-in tariff of 1.2 US cents/kWh.

In general, Uzbekistan is characterized by weak winds. The strongest winds are in the Aral Sea region and in the central part of the country. As yet, there are no wind installations in the Republic.

Climatic conditions are quite favorable for solar energy, with the highest levels of solar incidence occurring in the south. There is also a legislative agenda for the development of solar energy, but this has not translated into a favorable feed-in tariff for solar installations. Installed capacity consists of 12 MW of solar hot water supply plants with one high temperature solar plant (“large solar furnace”) with 1 MWth capacity.

Geothermal power has been identified by the government as an opportunity for further development. The exploration of geothermal fields has already taken place through oil and gas drilling. Uzbekistan has high potential for biomass energy generation as the fourth largest producer of cotton in the world. There is strong interest in the thermochemical conversion of cotton stalks to produce energy. The biomass potential is 3.0 million tons of cotton stalks per year.