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French Company to Build a Solar Plant in Uzbekistan

Attended by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a solar power plant with a capacity of 100 megawatts took place in Uzbekistan’s Khorezm region on February 29th. Built by the French company Voltalia, the new photovoltaic plant will generate 254 million kilowatt-hours of green energy per annum and increase the volume of electricity generated in Khorezm by 30%. In addition to providing 11% of the region's annual electricity consumption by the end of the year, the new plant will save 76 million cubic meters of natural gas and prevent the release of 106 thousand tons of harmful substances into the atmosphere. The project will also harness agrovoltaics technology and by combining energy production and agriculture, allow crops to be grown under solar panels for the first time in Uzbekistan. In discussion with Sébastien Clerc, CEO of Voltalia, President Mirziyoyev emphasized his support of both the Khorezm project and the construction of a hybrid power plant in the Bukhara region, and reiterated the extent to which such innovative projects strengthen multifaceted cooperation between Uzbekistan and France.

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Green Energy as a New Driver of Uzbekistan’s Economy

At a government meeting chaired by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on February 28th, it was announced that in 2024, Uzbekistan will produce 13 billion kilowatt-hours of green energy via hydro, wind, and solar power plants, to generate 15% of the country’s electricity. For decades, natural gas, oil products, and coal have fuelled Uzbekistan’s electricity but in recent years, the country’s natural gas has severely depleted. In 2023, Uzbekistan registered a reduction in the production by more than 4.5 billion cubic meters, necessitating the need to import natural gas from Russia through Kazakhstan. Official statistics also recorded a decrease in the country’s oil production. At yesterday’s meeting, it was stated that the country’s potential for solar and wind energy is 10-12 times higher than the current demand for electricity. In response, the government has launched major programs to create green energy with attractive packages for investors. To date, the renewable energy sector has attracted $2.1 billion in direct foreign investment enabling the implementation of projects worth $13 billion. Solar and wind power plants are currently under construction across the country, with nine solar and wind power plants with a total capacity of 1.6 gigawatts already launched in Bukhara, Jizzakh, Kashkadarya, Navoi, Samarkand, and Surkhandarya. Rooftop solar panels with a total capacity of 457 megawatts have also been installed in commercial, public, and residential buildings. When combined, these new measures produce an additional 5 billion kilowatt-hours of green electricity to the national grid and save 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas. President Mirziyoyev confirmed that the government has commissioned the following to be completed over the next three years: 28 solar and wind power plants with a total capacity of 8 gigawatts, 944 kilometers of high-voltage power lines, six large substations and 18 energy storage facilities with a total capacity of 2.2 gigawatts. He also emphasized that apart from the obvious benefits to the environment, the sector’s demand from local enterprises for solar panels, transformers and other related products has resulted in green energy becoming a new driver of the national economy.

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Afghan Canal Will Divert Water from Uzbekistan

Afghanistan has begun construction of the second phase of the Qosh Tepa Canal, which will divert water from the Amu Darya River and may have an adverse effect on agriculture in downstream Uzbekistan. The Taliban announced that construction work on the second phase, which stretches from Dawlat Abad District of Balkh Province to Andkhoi District of Faryab Province, began on February 20th, Afghan broadcaster TOLOnews reported, adding that the 198-km first phase of the canal is now complete and construction of the 177-km second phase will take 12 months. The canal is expected to convert 550,000 hectares of desert into farmland in northern Afghanistan. The Taliban-led government of Afghanistan has made the Qosh Tepa Canal a priority project and its construction started in early 2022. However, neighboring Uzbekistan, the main downstream country in the Amu Darya basin, has expressed concerns that the canal will have an adverse effect on its agriculture. In September 2023, Uzbekistan’s President Mirziyoyev stated that the canal could “radically change the water regime and balance in Central Asia.” Speaking at a meeting of the Council of Heads of the Founder States of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, Mirziyoyev warned that a “new participant in the water use process has appeared in our region.” Mirziyoyev proposed the formation of a joint working group to study all aspects of the Qosh Tepa Canal and its impact on the water regime of the Amu Darya River with the involvement of research institutes of the Central Asian countries. A Eurasian Development Bank’s (EDB) study, “Efficient Irrigation and Water Conservation in Central Asia,” released in November 2023, emphasized the need to mitigate the anticipated decrease in the flow of the Amu Darya River from Afghanistan. EDB analysts forecast that by 2028, the combined effects of climate change, low-water periods and the commissioning of Qosh Tepa Canal in Afghanistan will result in acute water shortages in Central Asia, estimated to be between 5 and 12 km3. With the launch of the canal provisionally set for 2028, its expected water intake from the Amu Darya will be up to 10 cubic kilometers. A reduction in the Amu Darya flow will have an impact on the entire Aral Sea basin. As a result, from 2028, Central Asia will face a chronic water shortage, Evgeny Vinokurov, chief economist of the EDB warned.

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Tashkent to Introduce Monthly ‘Car-Free Day’

One working day each month will now be "Car-Free Day" in the capital of Uzbekistan. The plan is to reduce the environmental impact of vehicles and encourage people to use bicycles to get around the city. Restrictions will not apply to public transportation, or emergency vehicles. Government officials have been instructed to "set a personal example by arriving at the workplace on public transportation." The idea for car-free days originated in Switzerland in 1973, during a fuel crisis, before spreading to other European countries. In 1998 the European Union initiated a campaign called "In town, without my car!," which is held from September 16 to 22 every year. The need to reduce air pollution in Tashkent is especially acute. The Uzbek capital is among the five cities worldwide with the worst air quality -- and often tops the ranking. This was the case on February 21, for example, when the content of fine particulate matter (PM2.5 measurement) in the city's air amounted to 140.3 µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter) -- which exceeded the WHO recommendations by a whopping 28.1 times (5 µg/m3). The public is sounding the alarm and calling on the Tashkent authorities to take urgent measures to prevent an ecological disaster. Specialists believe that single actions are not enough to preserve clean air in big cities; comprehensive work is needed to address the root causes of the pollution. This critical situation has prompted the government to include measures to improve the country's ecology in the large-scale state program for implementing the "Uzbekistan-2030" strategic roadmap. For example, it plans to phase out vehicles from the capital and regional centers that do not meet Euro-5 standards by 2030, and to ban trucks weighing more than 10 tons from driving through Tashkent -- except for those of the Armed Forces and municipal services. From March 1, the population will be notified about excessive content of fine particles in the local atmosphere, and measures will be taken to protect against dust at large construction sites (500 square meters and larger) in the country. Special attention will be paid to persons with diseases of the cardiovascular system and respiratory tract. In addition, Uzbekistan plans to abandon the production of 80-octane (AI-80) gasoline by 2026, in part to help popularize the use of electric cars and electric urban transport. Currently, the only countries that still produce AI-80 gasoline are Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. Medical experts believe that automotive exhaust is one of the main causes of lung cancer in humans. Yahye Ziyayev, Secretary General of the Uzbekistan Oncology Association, noted that "when AI-72 and AI-76 were banned in Uzbekistan, the incidence of lung cancer decreased over the course of ten years."

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Eco-Activists Tackle Dust Storms on Karakalpakstan’s Aral Sea

Forestry workers and ecological activists in Uzbekistan’s northwestern Karakalpakstan region have begun planting desert plants on dried up sections of the Aral Sea. Salt and dust carried in the wind cause significant damage to areas adjacent to the Aral Sea and their inhabitants. Every year more than 100 million tons of salt, dust and sand are blown from the bottom of the former Aral Sea and mix into the air. Up until the late-1990s, the land surrounding the Aral Sea was still cotton fields; today, it’s largely an expanse of salinized grey emptiness. The desiccation of the landscape has led to these vast toxic dust-storms that ravage around 1.5 million square kilometers. Spreading nitrates and carcinogens, these storms - visible from space - used to occur once every five years, but now strike ten times a year. Once a thriving agricultural center, Karakalpakstan, home to the remaining section of the so-called Large Aral Sea, is now one of the sickest places on Earth. Respiratory illness, typhoid, tuberculosis and cancers are rife, and the region has the highest infant mortality rate in the former USSR. “This year we plan to create green plantations in the most vulnerable places, where the winds with salt and sand come from,” said Zinovy Novitsky, a project manager from the Research Institute of the State Forestry Committee. “We plan to plant trees on 150-200,000 hectares. The country is introducing an effective policy to combat this problem.” Between 2018 and 2023, 1.7 million hectares of forests were planted on the bottom of what used to be the Aral Sea. To date, forestry enterprises have collected and prepared for sowing 192 tons of desert plant seeds, including 71 tons of saxaul seeds. Similar plans are being undertaken across the border in Kazakhstan, where, according to the International Fund for saving the Aral Sea in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the so called “Green Aral Sea” being created will make a massive contribution to the process of achieving carbon neutrality. “One saxaul retains up to 4 tons of sand, 1 hectare of four-year-old saxaul absorbs 1,158.2 kg of carbon dioxide and releases 835.4 kg of oxygen per year, [whilst] the shrubby plant, salsola richteri kar absorbs 1,547.8 kg of carbon dioxide and releases 1,116.4 kg of oxygen per hectare. Accordingly, 1.1 million hectares will consume about 1.3 million tons of carbon dioxide.”

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Uzbekistan Builds First Wind Farm

A wind power plant with a capacity of 500 MW is being built by the UAE company Masdar in Uzbekistan’s Navoi region. The first 100 MW of the plant was put into operation in December 2023, and since then the wind farm has generated 31 million kWh of electricity – equivalent to the monthly consumption of over 150,000 Uzbek households, the Ministry of Energy has said. During this short period, the wind farm has saved 9.4 million cubic meters of natural gas and prevented the emission of 13,000 tons of harmful substances into the atmosphere. The next 200 MW of the wind farm will be commissioned before the end of this year, and it will be operational at full design capacity in 2025. Wind turbines with a capacity of 4.7 MW from China’s Goldwind are being installed at the site. To date, 34 of a total of 111 turbines have been installed.