I am truly pleased to meet you today at the ceremony marking the launch of major new generation capacities and the commissioning of additional facilities.
I am confident that our forum, titled “Powering the Future – Sustainable Energy for New Uzbekistan”, will serve not only as a milestone in the development of the energy sector, but also as another significant practical step toward the sustainable advancement of our country.
Today, in response to the rapidly growing demands of our economy and population, we are carrying out major reforms in the energy system. We have set two major objectives as our main priorities in this direction.
The first is to ensure a reliable and uninterrupted energy supply for all sectors and regions.
The second is to achieve this goal through modern, environmentally friendly, and renewable alternative energy sources.
It is worth noting that in recent years, 35 billion USD in foreign investment has been attracted to the energy sector, and 9,000 MW of new capacity has been commissioned. As a result, electricity generation has increased from 60 billion kWh in 2017 to 85 billion kWh this year.
What is particularly noteworthy is that nearly 5,000 MW of solar and wind capacity, as well as 400 MW of hydropower, have been launched. This year, the share of green energy in total generation capacity will reach 30 percent.
In addition, 2,000 MW of small solar panels have been installed in the private sector, residential households, and social facilities. These systems alone have generated nearly 2 billion kWh of additional renewable energy this year. Furthermore, 69,000 kilometers of power lines, 14,000 transformers, and numerous high-voltage substations have been renewed throughout the regions.
These developments are also giving a strong boost to the growth of domestic enterprises. Since the beginning of the year, these companies have supplied 700 million USD worth of construction materials, metal structures, cable products, electrical equipment for newly built power plants and networks, and have provided design, engineering, and construction services.
For example, the first 38-MW hydropower plant of the Naryn cascade was commissioned using entirely locally produced components.
I am confident that our construction, electrotechnical, and service companies that support the energy sector’s development will grow in the future into large national enterprises meeting international standards.
In this regard, the two facilities launched today – “Angren Energy”, which will produce 15,000 transformers annually, and “Uzhydro-Power”, which will manufacture 155 hydro-turbine units – undoubtedly hold great promise.
Distinguished guests!
The major achievements and milestones we are reaching in the energy sector are possible thanks to the invaluable contribution of solid investors and reliable partners like you.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to those who are bringing substantial investment to our country and introducing the most advanced technologies. In particular: His Excellency Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates; His Excellency Alparslan Bayraktar, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Türkiye; His Excellency Parviz Ogtay Oglu, Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan; His Excellency Taalaibek Ibraev, Minister of Energy of the Kyrgyz Republic.
I would also like to extend my deep appreciation to the companies contributing to our progress: Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power; Türkiye’s Aksa and Cengiz Energy; the UAE’s Masdar; China’s China Energy, Datang, Sinoma, Poly, CNTIC, and Eagle Rise; France’s EDF, Voltalia, and TotalEnergies; Germany’s Siemens Energy; and Qatar’s Nebras.
In addition, I express my profound thanks to the representatives of the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and other financial institutions.
Dear friends!
Today, together with you, we are launching 42 new generation and infrastructure facilities worth nearly 11 billion USD, which will make a significant contribution to the development of the sector. We are also giving the official start to the construction of 21 new projects. In particular, we are commissioning 16 solar, wind, thermal, and hydropower plants across our regions, with a total capacity of 3,500 megawatts.
Once these facilities reach full capacity, they will generate 15 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. As a result, next year we will increase the volume of “green” energy production to 23 billion kilowatt-hours. Please note that this means the annual electricity consumption of Uzbekistan’s entire population will be fully covered.
Most importantly, thanks to clean energy, natural gas consumption will be reduced by nearly 7 billion cubic meters, and 11 million tons of harmful emissions will be prevented from being released into the atmosphere.
Today, we are also commissioning ten energy-storage systems with a total capacity of 1245 megawatts. These systems will make it possible to supply an additional 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity to the grid during peak demand hours.
The eleven major substations and 420 kilometers of high-voltage transmission lines being launched today will ensure the stable and reliable operation of the system.
Distinguished participants of the event!
We will certainly not rest on the results we have achieved. In the next 5 years, we will launch thousands of industrial and infrastructure facilities, creating high-income jobs by attracting more than $150 billion in foreign investment.
To create favorable conditions for the population, energy-efficient residential buildings with more than 800 thousand apartments will be built in the “New Uzbekistan” complexes and other regions.
We will also expand the number of modern supercomputer clusters and data centers to create an attractive environment for companies operating in new fields such as IT, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet of Things.
I would like to note that the Saudi’s DataVolt company has begun construction of a 500-megawatt data center, with an investment of $3 billion.
Such large-scale work will increase the demand for electricity by at least 1,5 times. Therefore, I will briefly outline our plans for the near future.
First, to meet the growing demand for electricity, more than 17 thousand megawatts of additional renewable energy capacity will be commissioned by 2030. As a result, we will increase the share of green energy in total generation to 54 percent.
Today, the launch of “green” capacities totaling 3.5 thousand megawatts worth $3,3 billion in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, Bukhara, Kashkadarya, and Tashkent regions will mark a major step in this direction.
In order to integrate the new capacities into a unified energy system, 6 thousand kilometers of high-voltage networks will be built. In particular, next year, one thousand kilometers of networks will be installed, and additional capacities of 6 thousand megawatts will be created at substations.
Second, as a result of our reforms in the field of electricity generation, we have gained extensive experience in attracting foreign direct investment in the sector based on public-private partnerships.
Starting this year, we have begun to apply the principles of private partnership not only in the production of electricity, but also in its delivery to consumers. In particular, we have reached an agreement with the Turkish company Aksa Elektrik on transferring the Samarkand regional power grids to private management. Within the framework of the project, this company will take over the operational management of the network, invest in it, modernize the grids, and gradually reduce losses by twofold. As a result, an average of $20 million will be saved annually.
Based on this experience, next year we will offer the management of the Jizzakh and Syrdarya power grids to investors, and in 2027, the power grids of Namangan and Tashkent regions as well.
Third, we will continue to actively promote the use of alternative energy sources among the population.
In the new year, based on the Chinese experience, 107 megawatts of solar power plants will be installed in 300 mahallas through cooperation with the population. This social project will be widely implemented, providing green energy to 30,000 low-income families. They will be able to generate income by supplying excess electricity to the grid.
Our entrepreneurs have also made efficient use of water resources and, this year, built 40 small and micro hydropower plants with a capacity of 40 megawatts. As a result, 120 million kilowatt-hours of electricity were generated, providing an additional source of income.
Next year, small and micro hydropower plants with a capacity of 65 megawatts will be built. Thanks to these projects, the electricity supply will be radically improved in 80 thousand households.
Fourth, at the recent COP-30 climate conference held in Brazil, we, at our own initiative, assumed an important obligation within the framework of the Paris Agreement. Specifically, we have set a goal to reduce harmful gas emissions by 50 percent by 2035.
In this regard, together with the World Bank, we have launched the world’s first innovative iCRAFT project. Within its framework, Uzbekistan has accounted for a reduction of 23 million tons of greenhouse gases. We have established a carbon credit system and started trading carbon units at the international level.
It should be noted that this year alone, 17 of our large industrial enterprises have switched to the international green energy certification system. By shifting 30 percent of their production to “clean” energy, they have significantly increased the attractiveness of their products in international markets. In the next two years, we will increase the number of such enterprises to 100.
Fifth, thanks to the significant expansion of our generation capacities in recent years, we have strengthened our partnership with neighboring countries to establish an integrated energy market.
In order to effectively use and jointly manage the hydropower potential of our region, next year we will begin financing the Kambarata-1 HPP project with Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
In this regard, I would like to especially note the determined efforts of the leaders of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, who are closely cooperating within the framework of the “Green Corridor” project for the export of electricity to Europe.
Dear participants of the event!
All the projects we are launching today will foster economic growth and open new opportunities for future generations. Through such dynamic actions and initiatives, we will certainly establish a fully modern energy system of a new model.
In conclusion, I would like to once again express my sincere gratitude to the representatives of the energy sector, all workers, engineers, and our foreign partners who are actively involved in these projects.
I wish all of you good health, endless energy, and every success.
