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Uzbekistan to be able to export 10-15 billion kWh of electricity to Europe by 2030 — Deputy Energy Minister
In 2030, Uzbekistan will be able to export 10-15 billion kWh of electricity abroad. Deputy Energy Minister Umid Mamadaminov said this in an interview with Spot on November 6 on the sidelines of the European Economy Days in Uzbekistan.
"It is predicted that in 2030, the demand for electricity [in Uzbekistan] will be about 120-125 billion kWh. We have many generating facilities - approximately 135 billion kWh. All excess capacity will be exported to Europe. As soon as the infrastructure is ready, electricity can be exported to Europe," the Deputy Energy Minister noted.
We are talking about electricity supplies through a "cable corridor" - the so-called "green corridor" to Europe. From 2030, Uzbekistan plans to export surplus "green" electricity generated in the country to Europe via Azerbaijan. In July, in Astana, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan signed a protocol on the project to create a "green energy" corridor "Central Asia - Azerbaijan - Europe". A memorandum of cooperation on the integration of energy systems was signed in the spring at an investment forum in Tashkent.
In August, Energy Minister Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov said that the volume of electricity exports to European countries "will depend on the capacity of the cable and the desire of the partners." The head of the Ministry of Energy said that Uzbekistan fully covers the demand for electricity, accordingly, the country is ready to supply from 2 to 5 GW of energy to Europe.
The Italian company CESI is developing the feasibility study (FS) for the project.
"We have chosen one company - CESI, which has already started working. It will take about a year and a half to prepare the feasibility study, they will finish it by the end of 2025. Then we will begin construction based on the developed feasibility study. There is a 2,500 km long cable, it will be a very expensive HVDC (high-voltage direct current line - ed.). The cost will be determined by the feasibility study, but it will be more than $2 billion," said Umid Mamadaminov.
When asked by Spot about the cost of electricity exported to Europe, Mamadaminov answered that the price will be determined by the market, but will be at least 4-5 cents per kilowatt.
Umid Mamadaminov previously reported that the leaders of Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan will sign a project to create a "green energy" corridor "Central Asia - Azerbaijan - Europe" within the framework of the COP29 conference (UN climate conference), which is taking place in Baku from November 11 to 22.
On the sidelines of the European Economy Days, Umid Mamadaminov also said that Uzbekistan has made significant progress in generating electricity, but now the country needs infrastructure for its storage and transportation.
“Infrastructure is extremely important for integrating intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar, and many countries face this challenge. We need at least 5,000 km of transmission lines, including high-voltage lines of 500 kV and 200 kV, and substations,” the deputy minister said.
To integrate renewable sources into the grid, it is necessary to have reserve capacity of at least 80% of the capacity of renewable sources, he noted.
“We have already signed agreements to install more than 2,000 MW of energy storage systems with a total storage capacity of over 400 MWh, since each of them is a two-cycle network. Over the next two years, we will have at least 4,000 MW of baseload capacity. This will really help to promptly respond to fluctuations in solar power generation,” the deputy minister said.
Uzbekistan, he said, will be able to balance its energy system thanks to a single platform for the purchase and sale of electricity, which will be created in the coming years. “Neighboring countries such as Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have significant hydropower resources, which fits perfectly with our intermittent renewable energy generation,” Umid Mamadaminov noted.
