Uzbekistan’s electricity demand will grow by 7.5% in the coming years, minister of energy Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov said. Speaking at the Russian Energy Week on 26 September, he highlighted the country’s efforts to meet the rising energy needs.
“We forecast that demand will grow by about 7.5% per year until 2030. Currently, it is increasing by 7−8% annually,” he said.
Given the rising demand, the minister emphasized the necessity of introducing new power generation sources. Uzbekistan has adopted a program to build solar and wind power plants with a combined capacity of 20 GW by 2030.
“We plan to increase the share of renewable energy in the overall [energy production] to 40%. Currently, it stands at 10%, and by the end of the year we will increase it to 15%. We plan to commission between 2.5 and 3.5 GW of renewable energy annually,” he said.
The minister noted that the renewable energy program would be implemented alongside the development of other energy sources, including hydroelectric power plants, and modernization and construction of thermal power plants.
“If we have more than 14 GW of thermal power capacity by the end of this year, we will have 18.5 GW by the end of 2030. Our approach is balanced, considering the development of all energy sources. With over 300 days of sunshine and favorable wind conditions, it is essential to take advantage of these resources,” Mirzamakhmudov said.
Uzbekistan is also investing in electricity storage systems based on lithium-ion batteries, he continued.
“This year we are introducing the first 300 MW storage system. By 2030, we plan to expand storage [capacity] to 4.2 GW. Additionally, we are looking into building hydro-storage power stations to further use hydroelectric power. I would also like to point out that 100% of renewable energy projects will be funded by foreign direct investment,” the minister stated.
According to recent data from the Agency for Statistics on electricity generation by large and small enterprises, electricity production increased by 4.1% between January and August 2024, rising from 52.3 billion to 54.43 billion kWh.
Electricity generation by large utilities, most of which use gas, coal and hydroelectric power, declined in August to 5.84 billion kWh, which is 625.4 million kWh, or 9.7%, less than the 6.5 billion kWh produced in August last year. This shortage has been compensated by the growth in solar and wind power generation, which now accounts for 10.6% of total electricity generation.
