Uzbekistan photovoltaic container

Large-scale solar PV projects have been subject to competitive bidding processes in Uzbekistan since 2019 and an awarded project can sign a long-term contract with NEGU at a fixed tariff, as noted above. The government of Uzbekistan also aims to develop small- and medium-scale solar projects.

It outlines the sustainable energy environment solar energy could deliver and offers a timeline up to 2030. In this vision, Uzbekistan succeeds in maximising the benefits of solar energy capacity for both electricity and heat, making solar energy one of the country's major energy sources.

For comparison, the area of the hydropower reservoirs are more than 15 times the size of the world's largest solar park in India, which has an installed capacity of 2.25 GW. In this regard, the potential of floating solar PV on the hydropower reservoirs is a realistic opportunity to further increase solar PV capacity in Uzbekistan.

Nevertheless, a more comprehensive set of policies and support mechanisms will be required to reach Uzbekistan's maximum capacity of solar energy and further increase solar energy toward 2030. The government should consider bundling the range of actions needed to ensure the use of all types of solar energy resources.

This section presents a solar energy roadmap for Uzbekistan by 2030. It is based on current measures being implemented in Uzbekistan to break down the possible barriers to solar energy deployment discussed in the previous section. It aims to facilitate the government's deliberation of its solar energy strategy and focuses on:

variable solar electricity benefits from the local flexibility provided by dispatchable, highly flexible hydropower, thus limiting impacts on the power system. There are currently 25 reservoirs in Uzbekistan, with a total water surface of 1 500 km 2, 4 of which are hydropower reservoirs totalling 890 km 2 (CAWater, 2021).