BACKGROUND

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In December 2025, at the forum "Powering the Future: Sustainable Energy for New Uzbekistan," President Mirziyoyev launched 42 new energy projects worth US$11 billion. The package included 16 solar and wind plants, thermal stations and hydropower facilities with a combined capacity of 3,500 megawatts, alongside energy storage, substations, transformer capacity and high-voltage network upgrades. It was the largest single announcement in the sector's history. 

 

Energy ministers from the UAE, Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan attended, alongside representatives of the World Bank, the EBRD, the ADB, the AIIB and the Islamic Development Bank. Corporate leaders from Acwa, Masdar, Cengiz Enerji, EDF, Voltalia, TotalEnergies, China Energy, Datang and Sinoma were present.

 

The figures behind the forum tell the story of the past eight years. Electricity production has risen from 60 billion kilowatt-hours in 2017 to 85 billion in 2025. Some 9,000 megawatts of new capacity have been added to the grid since 2017, attracting approximately US$35 billion to the sector. Solar and wind plants generated over 10.5 billion kilowatt-hours in 2025, a fourteen-fold increase from 2023. 

Acwa of Saudi Arabia alone added 752 megawatts to the grid in 2025. Green energy generation is expected to reach 23 billion kilowatt-hours in 2026, a volume sufficient to cover the annual electricity consumption of the entire population.

 

Demand is growing in step with the economy. A country of 38 million people, with GDP growth of 7.7 percent, 782 new industrial projects in the pipeline and one million new jobs targeted, requires an energy system that can keep pace. Electricity consumption rose by over 25 percent between 2019 and 2023 alone, and continues to accelerate with urbanisation, manufacturing expansion and a population that adds roughly 700,000 people each year. The Presidential address to the Oliy Majlis in December 2025 made the priority explicit: reliable, uninterrupted supply for all sectors and regions, delivered through modern, environmentally responsible sources.

 

The targets for 2030 have been revised upward repeatedly, each revision reflecting the pace of delivery. Total electricity production is now targeted at 120 to 135 billion kilowatt-hours. Renewable capacity is set to reach 25 gigawatts, with the share of green energy in total generation targeted at 54 percent, up from 30 percent today. Plans to export 10 to 15 billion kilowatt-hours to Europe by 2030, via a high-voltage direct current transmission line running under the Caspian Sea through Azerbaijan and Georgia to Romania, signal a country preparing to become a continental energy supplier.

 

The energy sector is where Uzbekistan's economic ambition meets its infrastructure capacity. In his December address, President Mirziyoyev was direct: had the country remained at 60 billion kilowatt-hours of generation from 2017, doubling the size of the economy would not have been possible, and the production demands of 38 million people could not have been met. 

 

The investment required for the next phase is correspondingly large. Substantial further investment is required, with the energy sector embedded in a $52 billion national industrial and infrastructure pipeline through 2026. What follows examines this sector across six dimensions: generation capacity, renewable deployment, thermal modernisation, nuclear energy, grid infrastructure and the green transition. Each represents a distinct investment opportunity. Together, they describe a system where US$35 billion has already arrived and where the coming decade will require substantially more.

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GENERATION CAPACITY AND THE 2030 TARGET

 

Total installed electricity capacity stands at approximately 20 gigawatts. In 2025, 5.6 gigawatts of renewable capacity were operational, with over 2,000 megawatts of new capacity commissioned in 2025 alone. The government's target is 25 gigawatts of renewable capacity by 2030, comprising solar and wind alongside hydropower and battery storage. Fifteen new hydroelectric power plants with a combined 868 megawatts are planned by 2026, bringing total hydro capacity to 2,920 megawatts. Electricity production is targeted at 120 to 135 billion kilowatt-hours by 2030.

 

The December 2025 forum set the pace. Sixteen generation projects worth $3.3 billion will add 3,500 megawatts. Once operational, these facilities will contribute an additional billion kilowatt-hours annually. The government expects green energy to reach 23 billion kilowatt-hours in 2026, saving 7 billion cubic meters of natural gas and preventing 11 million tonnes of emissions. In 2025, fuel and energy consumption per dollar of output fell by 13 percent, generating an additional $1 billion in added value. The scale of investment and the speed of commissioning distinguish Uzbekistan from its regional peers.

 

RENEWABLE ENERGY: SOLAR, WIND AND STORAGE

 

Acwa of Saudi Arabia has committed $15 billion to Uzbekistan's energy sector, with 19 projects in its development portfolio, 18 of them renewable. The centrepiece is the 1.5-gigawatt Kungrad wind complex in Karakalpakstan, which includes a 300-megawatt battery energy storage system and roughly 1,450 kilometers of new transmission infrastructure. Acwa is the largest private investor in Uzbekistan's energy sector, with US$ 15 billion committed across 19 projects.

 

The EBRD has financed 1.65 gigawatts of wind capacity, 2.4 gigawatts of solar photovoltaic and 668 megawatts of battery energy storage totalling 1,837 megawatt-hours. Masdar of the UAE is developing a 300-megawatt solar plant with 75-megawatt-hour battery storage in Kashkadarya, financed through a $195.5 million EBRD package with concessional finance from Canada and Finland. France's Voltalia signed an investment agreement for a 200-megawatt hybrid wind-storage project and is developing the 500-megawatt Turan storage facility, with construction expected in 2026. Since January 2024, all new solar and wind installations above one megawatt must integrate energy storage equivalent to at least 25 percent of installed capacity, a regulation that embeds grid stability into every new project from the design stage.

 

GAS AND THERMAL MODERNISATION

 

Natural gas continues to provide the base-load foundation of Uzbekistan's electricity system, and the modernisation programme is focused on replacing older thermal capacity with high-efficiency combined-cycle gas turbines. Électricité de France is building two major gas-fired power plants in partnership with companies from Japan, Qatar and Germany, with the first turbine tests completed in December 2025. Energy tariff reform, with business tariffs adjusted in 2023 and household tariffs in May 2024, is moving the sector toward cost-recovery pricing by 2026 to 2027, creating the commercial conditions for sustained private investment in generation and distribution.

 

The President's address to the Oliy Majlis announced a programme to double productivity and energy efficiency across the industrial sector. The Ministry of Economy and Finance will implement a dedicated project with $200 million in loans and grants from international financial institutions, bringing in qualified foreign technologists and engineers, digitalising business processes and conducting energy audits across major enterprises. A Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution will be established to implement Industry 4.0 solutions in energy-intensive production, including robotics, the Internet of Things and smart factory systems. These measures target a 1.5-fold reduction in energy costs for creating $1,000 of added value over five years.

 

NUCLEAR ENERGY

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On 24 March 2026, concrete pouring began at Uzbekistan's first nuclear power plant in the Forish district of Jizzakh province. The project, agreed during President Putin's state visit in May 2024, is being built in partnership with Rosatom. The updated configuration comprises two RITM-200N small modular reactors with a capacity of 55 megawatts each, followed by two VVER-1000 reactors generating one gigawatt each, bringing total planned output to 2,100 megawatts. The first unit is expected to be commissioned by 2029. Uzatom Director Azim Ahmedkhodjayev described the start of construction as a decisive step in the national programme for modern nuclear energy.

 

Once fully operational, the plant is expected to meet over 15 percent of the country's electricity needs, generating 16 to 17 billion kilowatt-hours per year. A dedicated settlement is being developed alongside the plant to house personnel and support operations. Nuclear generation adds a long-duration, weather-independent source to a system that is rapidly integrating variable renewables, providing the stable base-load capacity that complements solar and wind across the daily generation cycle.

 

GRID MODERNISATION AND MARKET REFORM

 

Connecting new generation to the economy requires transmission infrastructure at a corresponding pace. The government plans 6,000 kilometers of new high-voltage transmission lines, with 1,000 kilometers scheduled for construction in 2026. A new law "On Electric Power Industry," adopted in July 2024, establishes the regulatory framework for a wholesale electricity market. 

 

A free wholesale market, formed on supply and demand, is planned for 2026, supported by an intelligent real-time SCADA management system being implemented from generation through to distribution. The most ambitious corridor project links Uzbekistan to European markets. High-voltage direct current transmission lines totalling 2,500 kilometers will run under the Caspian Sea, through Azerbaijan and Georgia, then under the Black Sea to Romania. The target is 10 to 15 billion kilowatt-hours of annual exports by 2030. This corridor positions Uzbekistan as a supplier of Central Asian renewables to European demand through physical infrastructure. For international investors in generation assets, the export corridor adds a second revenue stream beyond the domestic market.

 

THE GREEN TRANSITION

 

Over the past five years, solar and wind plants alongside hydropower facilities with a combined capacity of 6,000 megawatts have been commissioned. The share of green energy in total generation has reached 30 percent. At the December 2025 forum, construction began on 3,500 megawatts of new green capacity at $3.3 billion. A green hydrogen pilot, agreed between Uzkimyosanoat and Acwa, represents the sector's next frontier. Carbon neutrality is targeted for 2050. A new programme will install 107 megawatts of rooftop and micro-solar across 300 mahallas, supplying green energy to 30,000 low-income families who will also sell surplus electricity to the grid. In 2025, 40 micro-hydro plants with 40 megawatts of capacity generated 120 million kilowatt-hours. Another 65 megawatts are planned for 2026, improving supply for 80,000 households.