Uzbekistan plans to increase the share of renewable energy sources in electricity production to 40% by 2030

Today, many countries are radically revising their policies in the transition from the traditional model, in which environmental protection is considered a burden for the economy, to the engine of sustainable environmental development - a green alternative.

According to available data, 34 billion tons of carbon dioxide are emitted into the atmosphere annually, while the total volume of greenhouse gas emissions is 41 billion tons. These figures have increased by 3.8 times compared to the period of the 50s of the last century. Moreover, the limited and reduced resources of hydrocarbon energy sources bring to the agenda the adoption of measures to develop alternative energy, which is an urgent and urgent task. In this context, the widespread introduction of renewable energy sources in the world is rapidly developing. The total installed capacity of devices using renewable energy sources in 2022 amounted to 3372 gigawatts, by 2023 - 3700 GW. In particular, the capacity of hydroelectric power plants increased by 21 GW, wind power by 75 GW, solar power by 191 GW, bioenergy by 7.6 GW and geothermal energy by 181 MW.
As of the end of 2024, the total capacity of devices using renewable energy sources in the world is 4600 GW. Last year, China achieved record figures in this area, increasing solar power capacity by 18 percent and wind power by 45.
Today, as energy demand grows, many developed countries (USA, Japan, China, Great Britain and a number of European countries) are experiencing energy shortages.
Our country generates 81 billion kilowatts of electricity per year. Given the rapid economic growth (GDP by an average of 5-6 percent) and the population increase by 700-800 thousand people annually, the demand for energy is also growing proportionally. According to our calculations, by 2030, energy demand will reach at least 125-130 billion kilowatts per year. In such conditions, within the framework of reforms in the field of state and public construction, which are consistently and gradually carried out in Uzbekistan, goals are put forward aimed at accelerating the transition to a green economy and effectively achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The development of renewable energy sources plays a key role in the energy sector of Uzbekistan. After all, our country has unprecedented natural reserves. Therefore, large-scale work is being carried out in the republic to introduce renewable energy sources. A legal framework has been created in the field of alternative energy. In 2019, the law "On the use of renewable energy sources", important and conceptual decrees and resolutions of the President of the country were adopted.
As a result of systematic activities, by 2024, the total capacity of renewable energy sources in the republic reached 4500 MW, and their share in the total energy sector was 16 percent. Last year alone, almost a billion cubic meters of natural gas were saved and 1.4 million tons of greenhouse gases were prevented from being released into the atmosphere due to renewable energy sources.
According to the Strategy "Uzbekistan - 2030", our country plans to increase the share of renewable energy sources to 40 percent of the total electricity production by 2030. At the same time, the following measures should be implemented to ensure energy security:
further diversification of the energy sector;
introduction of new types of advanced alternative energy, including the widespread use of efficient and environmentally friendly hydrogen fuel (the advantage of hydrogen as a fuel is that when it burns, not only environmentally friendly water vapor is formed, but also the energy reserve is higher than that of organic fuels; when burning a ton of hydrogen, as much heat is released as when burning 3.5 tons of organic fuel);
certain facilities should be transferred to an autonomous (local) power supply system, since its losses when supplying electricity over long distances average 18 percent;
wide localization of solar panel and wind generator production;
accelerated promotion of research and development to improve the efficiency of renewable energy sources;
organization of large-scale installation of solar collectors (vacuum collectors are suitable for our climate conditions) for heating premises and obtaining hot water;
inventory of high-energy technologies, since we spend 2-3 times more energy per unit of production than in developed countries;
increasing the efficiency of technologies for using landfill gas obtained from waste;
forming a culture of rational consumption of electrical and thermal energy among the population.
It is important that people believe in the results of reforms in the energy sector.
 

One must not forget the simple fact: wasted energy leads to a deficit somewhere.

Boriy Alikhanov,
Narimon Umarov,
deputies of the Legislative Chamber
Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan.