On June 1, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrived in Surkhandarya region and visited the construction site of a solar photovoltaic plant in Sherabad district.

Several energy facilities are being built in Uzbekistan to meet the growing needs of the population and the economy in electricity. Main attention is paid to the use of solar energy, which plays an important role in the current conditions of limited traditional energy resources.

This year, Masdar of the United Arab Emirates and Total Eren of France will launch photovoltaic plants with a capacity of 100 megawatts each in Navoi and Samarkand regions.

A tender was announced for the construction of a solar photovoltaic plant in Sherabad district. The Asian Development Bank provided technical and financial advice for the tender.

More than 50 companies have expressed their interest in implementing the project. After a two-stage competition, Masdar won with the lowest tariff.

The company will build a solar photovoltaic plant with a capacity of 457 MW in Sherabad district. A new 220 kW substation and a 52-kilometer transmission line will also be erected to connect to the Surkhon substation.

A plot of 601 hectares has been selected for the station. Masdar will attract $260 million of direct investment. The station will have an annual production capacity of 1.04 billion kWh.

The implementation of the project will save 340 million cubic meters of natural gas per year, and 300,000 households will be supplied with electricity.

A thousand people will be involved in the construction of the plant, and 120 specialists in its operation. The facility is planned to be launched in August 2023.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted the work carried out in Uzbekistan to build an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly economy.

“The opportunity to purchase electricity for 1.8 cents per kilowatt-hour is a very great success for the economy of our country and an important factor in ensuring the wellbeing of the population. The construction of this plant, the energy it generates and the new infrastructure will give a powerful impetus to the comprehensive development of the region”, the President said.

The Head of the state laid a capsule at the construction site of a photovoltaic plant.

The ceremony was also attended by representatives of the older generation. Vice-President of the Asian Development Bank Ashok Lavasa and the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure of the UAE Suhail Al Mazrouei took part in the event via videoconference.

The project is part of the program for the construction of solar photovoltaic plants with a total capacity of 1 GW, implemented by the government of Uzbekistan with the support of the Asian Development Bank.

It is planned to build solar stations with a capacity of 200 megawatts in Samarkand and Jizzakh regions, wind farms for 100 megawatts in Beruni and Karauzak districts of Karakalpakstan, as well as 3 wind farms with a total capacity of 1.5 thousand megawatts in Bukhara and Navoi.

Uzbekistan has set a goal to bring the capacity of solar power plants up to 5 thousand, wind power plants – up to 3 thousand, hydroelectric power plants – up to 4 thousand megawatts by 2030.

UzA