Since 2021, Uzbekistan has commissioned ten green power plants, including nine solar and one wind power plant, with a combined capacity exceeding 2,500 megawatts. These developments are part of the nation's broader effort to shift towards renewable energy sources and reduce dependency on fossil fuels.
Additionally, Uzbekistan boasts hydroelectric plants with a total capacity of more than 2,200 megawatts. Three years ago, fossil fuel power plants dominated the country's electricity network, accounting for around 90% of the total.
However, the recent surge in green power plants has reduced this figure to 70%, with 25-30% of electricity now being generated by renewable sources.
Growth in Renewable Energy
In the first half of 2024 alone, solar and wind power plants generated 1.6bn kWh, marking an increase of 1.2bn kWh or 507%. Hydropower plants produced 4.1bn kWh, bringing the total electricity generated from renewable sources to 5.7bn kWh.
This shift has resulted in significant savings of natural gas, with 1bn cubic meters conserved and approximately 2.4mn tons of harmful gases prevented from being released into the atmosphere.
To put this into perspective, the 1.6bn kWh of electricity produced by solar and wind power in the first half of 2024 is enough to meet the six-month social norm for more than 1.3mn households.
On the other hand, in the first half of 2022, solar photovoltaic power plants produced 148.3mn kWh of electricity, which increased to 284.3mn kWh in the first half of 2023.
Comparing coal-fired power plants, 2.06bn kWh of electricity was produced in April-July 2023. However, in the same period in 2024, production dropped to 1.7bn kWh, a reduction of 400mn kWh or 19.4%, due to the increased capacity of green power stations.
Efficiency and Environmental Impact
A detailed analysis of fuel consumption reveals significant reductions. In April-July 2023, thermal power plants consumed 5.6bn cubic meters of natural gas, 86,500 tons of fuel oil, and 1.6mn tons of coal.
In contrast, the same period in 2024 saw these figures drop to 4.8bn cubic meters of natural gas (5.9% less), 2,500 tons of fuel oil (97.1% less), and 1.2mn tons of coal (27.7% less).
Modern energy-efficient thermal power plants have played a crucial role in these reductions. In 2020, these plants produced 60.8bn kWh of electricity with a conditional fuel consumption of 333.8 gr/kWh. By 2023, production increased to 69.6bn kWh (14.5% more), while conditional fuel consumption decreased to 307.1 gr/kWh (8% less).
Currently, 25-30% of Uzbekistan's electricity is generated by solar, wind, and hydropower plants. Looking ahead, the nation aims to further increase the share of green energy. By 2030, it is planned that more than 40% of total electricity production will come from these renewable sources.
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