Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 27 April, a panel discussion on "Investing in Wind, Solar and Water Energy" was held within the framework of TIIF-2023.

Participants discussed the importance of using renewable energy sources in Uzbekistan, what has already been done in this direction and what projects are planned to implement in the near future. It was noted that today the international community considers RES not as additional energy sources, but as a basis for energy supply in the future.

The moderator of the session, Managing Partner of KPMG Vitaliy Yakovlev underlined that Uzbekistan is one of the most attractive regions in Central Asia from the point of view of the development potential of renewable energy sources. It was noted that the population in the region is growing rapidly and, consequently, the issue of satisfying the growing demand for electricity becomes urgent.

- We have set ourselves ambitious goals and are working to achieve them," said Minister of Energy Jurabek Mirzamahmudov. - As an example, I can cite projects of MASDAR with total capacity of about 1500 MW, also it is planned to build two wind power stations with ACWA Power. Up to 15 GW of hydropower is planned by 2030. In addition, agreements have been reached with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on the construction of the Kambar-Ata HPP. The government of Uzbekistan has pledged to produce 25% of all electricity from RES by 2030. In this regard, the country is creating wide opportunities to attract private capital, including long-term guarantees for the purchase of "green" electricity. This is very important for us.       

The Minister of Energy also noted that due to climate change, there is a need to make quick decisions, as we did in winter.

- In order to meet the demand of the population, we decided to hold a tender, find partners and build competitive tariffs. During negotiations we made sure that the existing tariffs were not exceeded. In terms of timeframe, preparation of tenders and all organizational issues take at least a year and a half. After the selection of potential partners, it takes two years to implement and we do not get the project until three years later. But we agreed with a Chinese company in February, and with MASDAR in March, and as a result we will get power in December. In July, the first turbines for the wind farm will be with ACWA Power. We need to move quickly so that we don't have a shortage this coming winter.

Anand Rohatgi, Chief Operating Officer of Synergy Consulting, said this was his second time participating in TIIF and noted that the success of the investment sector is crucial when it comes to renewable energy. He stressed that not many countries can balance partners and move quickly to a competitive environment.

In turn, Vice-chairman and Managing Director of ACWA POWER Raad AlSaady praised the ongoing reforms in Uzbekistan in the energy sector:

- "We have started cooperating with this country, which has huge potential, since 2019, and we do not want to stop there. We aim to develop energy storage systems. We hope that by 2026 we will be able to implement our plans. The point here is that maintenance has to keep up with projects. We need innovative solutions and smart technologies.                

MASDAR Chief Operations Officer Abdulaziz Al Hammadi expressed his intention to develop projects in the future. For example, together with Uzbekistan a project for a solar power plant of 100 megawatts has been developed. Work on the construction of a wind farm is underway.