The government said it is committed to improving energy efficiency and increasing the share of renewable energy in the country’s energy balance. This latest development is also a part of Uzbekistan’s growing role in the regional and international energy markets, the government said.
The government has asked a consulting company to model Uzbekistan’s energy system against the experiences of Germany, Japan and Spain to learn from their low-carbon transitions.
The energy ministry told NucNet earlier this month that it is planning to go ahead with the construction of 2,400 MW of nuclear power plants that will begin commercial operation by 2030.
The plans reflect the high priority given by the government to “a radical programme of reforms to meet increasing energy demand from a growing population and a fast-developing economy”, the ministry said in a statement emailed to NucNet.
Uzbekistan’s state nuclear agency Uzatom said preparations for the construction of the first commercial nuclear power plant in Central Asia are “in full swing” and the schedule has not been affected by the global coronavirus pandemic.
Uzatom was reported in local media as saying engineering and geological work is continuing at “a priority site” in an area near Lake Tuzkan in Jizzakh province, west of the capital Tashkent in the east of the country. “Also, contract negotiations are continuing with [Russian state nuclear corporation] Rosatom to agree on the terms of the main contract for the construction of a nuclear power plant,” Uzatom said.
In January Uzatom told NucNet that the preparation of external infrastructure for two Russia-supplied pressurised water reactor units is scheduled to begin next year.
Uzbekistan signed an inter-governmental agreement with Russia in September 2018 for the development of the its first nuclear power station. The facility, which will be constructed by Rosatom, will have two blocks with a combined capacity of 2,400 MW. The first is due to come on line in 2028 and the second in 2030.
