Tajikistan is positioning renewable energy and regional electricity trade as central to its long-term economic strategy, as Dushanbe seeks to build on its hydropower base while reducing exposure to climate- and seasonal-supply risks.
The message was delivered by Deputy Minister of Energy and Water Resources Sharif Makhmadzoda during a ministerial dialogue on the renewable energy transition in Central Asia.
The session, titled International Cooperation for a Sustainable and Diversified Energy Future, was held as part of the Baku Energy Forum.
According to Makhmadzoda, the energy transition has become one of Tajikistan’s key long-term development priorities. He said the shift toward renewable energy is not only about meeting international climate commitments, but also about strengthening energy security, supporting industrial development, and improving living standards.
Tajikistan continues to place hydropower at the center of its energy strategy. Makhmadzoda noted that approximately 95% of the country’s electricity is generated by hydroelectric power plants, making the republic one of the world’s leading producers of green energy.
Makhmadzoda also stressed the need to diversify the country’s energy mix, citing climate change, glacier melt, seasonal changes in river flows, and rising domestic electricity demand.
Against this backdrop, the government sees modernization of the energy sector and the expansion of other renewable energy sources as increasingly important. Particular attention is being paid to the development of solar and wind power generation.
Regional cooperation was another key theme of Makhmadzoda’s remarks. According to the deputy minister, Tajikistan’s renewed participation in the Central Asian Unified Energy System could play an important role in creating a regional market for clean electricity.
CASA-1000 is designed to carry up to 1,300 megawatts of surplus electricity from Central Asia to high-demand markets in South Asia, linking Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The comments underline a wider challenge for Tajikistan. Hydropower gives the country one of the region’s cleanest power systems, but it also leaves the energy sector heavily exposed to water availability, climate pressures, and seasonal demand peaks.
