QAZAQ GREEN. Uzbekistan is accelerating its transition to renewable energy and boosting local manufacturing capacity for green technologies. At a recent meeting of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, the Minister of Energy responded to a parliamentary inquiry on the development of renewable energy, Gazeta.uz reports.

Several international companies plan to establish factories in Uzbekistan to produce components for wind turbines. A solar panel plant with a capacity of up to 500 MW is already operating in the Navoi region, while production of inverters and metal structures has started in the Jizzakh region.

“Thanks to local component production, the cost of renewable energy generation has dropped from 20 to 12 cents per kilowatt-hour,” the minister said. Plans are also underway to launch the production of wind blades in Jizzakh and wind tower structures in Karakalpakstan.

Currently, Uzbekistan has installed solar panels with a combined capacity of 1,857 MW and solar collectors with a total volume of 4.8 million litres. These installations have saved 2.21 billion kWh of electricity and 669.7 million cubic metres of gas, while preventing 875,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.

Seven solar panel manufacturing plants with a total capacity of 770 MW and five domestic producers of solar water heaters are operating across the country. By 2030, solar photovoltaic capacity is expected to reach 9.4 GW.

Solar panels have also been installed in 38 universities, generating 6.2 MW of power and saving 3.5 million kWh of electricity and 100 million cubic metres of gas. In addition, 32,117 households received payments totalling 133.8 billion soums for the electricity they supplied to the grid.

The Ministry of Energy also projects that by 2050, solar panel waste could reach 40 tonnes. To address this, a national recycling system will be introduced for the safe disposal of used panels. Legislative changes are being drafted to establish dedicated landfills and provide tax incentives for recycling enterprises.