QAZAQ GREEN.Uzbekistan is set to reduce electricity consumption for street lighting by switching to solar-powered streetlights. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has ordered measures to cut the country’s annual street lighting energy use, which currently stands at 200 million kilowatt-hours. The transition is expected to reduce consumption by half.

The initiative was discussed at a recent government meeting on energy efficiency, according to Podrobno.uz.

In addition to street lighting reforms, Uzbekistan plans several large-scale measures to ease the strain on the national energy grid in the coming years.

Among the planned steps:

• Upgrading outdated industrial equipment, which is expected to save 385 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and 50 million cubic meters of gas.
• Building 300 small solar power plants, projected to save 45 million cubic meters of gas.
• Constructing 1,000 micro-hydropower plants on canals and streams, which will generate an additional 175 million kilowatt-hours of electricity.

By the end of the year, Uzbekistan aims to conserve 1.1 billion cubic meters of gas and 2.6 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.

The government also plans to tighten energy efficiency regulations for major enterprises and introduce a tailored energy supply strategy for the densely populated Fergana Valley, with the possibility of expanding this approach nationwide.

Additionally, authorities will promote energy-saving practices among citizens, encouraging the use of solar panels and more efficient electricity and gas consumption at home.