Azernews.Az

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Turkish company Etko Co Enerji A.S will build a new wind power plant in the Surkhandarya region of Uzbekistan.

This is envisaged in the Concept of development of the region in 2019-2030.

The station is scheduled to be commissioned until 2020. Its capacity is expected to reach 600 MW. As many as 100 new jobs will be created here. The creation of the new plant will allow uninterrupted supply of electricity to the Baysunsky and Sherabad districts.

Uzbekistan has long been interested in the development of alternative energy sources and increase of electricity generation.

German companies Geo-Net and Intec-Gopa presented a wind atlas reflecting the wind energy potential of Uzbekistan back in 2015.

The republic’s wind energy resources exceed 520,000 MW of installed capacity and over a billion megawatt-hours of electricity generation per year - and these are only the results of a preliminary conservative estimate.

Based on the atlas, Uzbekenergo identified two promising sites - the Navoi region and the south of Karakalpakstan - for further detailed studies to clarify the capabilities of these sites. Bukhara and Samarkand provinces can also be considered for installing wind farms in the future.

In addition, another German company has shown great interest in the development of the wind energy market of Uzbekistan. In particular, Siemens announced its plan to build the first 100 MW wind power plant in Uzbekistan on the terms of a public-private partnership. It will be located in the Zarafshan district of the Navoi region. The total cost of the project will be $ 100 million.