Uzbekistan and China have agreed on power projects, with plans to erect pumped-storage power plants, construct new transmission lines, and train personnel in renewables.
The agreements followed the talks between President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where the two leaders also discussed bringing the two-way trade to $20 billion through boosting deliveries of industrial and agricultural goods.
The Energy Minister Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov told Uzbekiston 24 TV channel that members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) had reviewed proposals for joint projects and investment initiatives, including steps to expand Central Asia’s power system cooperation with other countries.
China is now our largest partner in both investment and technology in the energy sector, Mirzamakhmudov said. “We are not only receiving finance, but nearly all major process equipment imported from abroad comes from China. This is because China possesses the high-end technologies.”
The minister also announced a new pumped-storage power generation project in the Tashkent province.
We are talking about a technology that uses an energy storage system on lithium-ion batteries: water supplied from hydroelectric power plants is collected again in a reservoir and, if necessary, during peak hours, is used to re-generate power. This will ensure a more stable supply of power for a long period, he elaborated further.
The relevant agreements have already been reached, and “this will be the first project of this kind in Uzbekistan, he added.
Among other areas, he named the construction of new power grids jointly with Energy China and their transfer to long-term operation on partnership terms.
Also, Mirzamakhmudov announced an agreement with a Chinese company to supply mobile substations that would be used during the repair and modernization of networks in Tashkent. “We are talking about the implementation of the president’s instructions to stabilize the city’s power supply,” the minister said.
