The President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree on measures to develop renewable and hydrogen energy in Uzbekistan. The document approved the establishment of the National Research Institute of Renewable Energy Sources under the Ministry of Energy in place of the International Institute of Solar Energy LLC of the Academy of Sciences.
In addition, an Interdepartmental Commission for the Development of Renewable and Hydrogen Energy is being formed to ensure the development of drafts of the National Strategy for the Development of Renewable and Hydrogen Energy and other regulatory legal acts, as well as the implementation of promising projects in these areas.
The main tasks of the Institute are:
- the formation of priority areas for expanding the possibilities of using renewable energy sources and the development of hydrogen energy, conducting fundamental and applied research and the development of innovative projects in these areas;
- study and implementation of effective ways of using renewable energy sources and hydrogen in high-tech spheres and sectors of the economy by converting the energy received from them into electrical and thermal energy;
- development of drafts of regulations in the field of technical regulation on the production, supply and use of renewable energy and hydrogen and (or) bringing them into line with the requirements of international (interstate, regional) standards.
The Ministry of Energy was instructed to provide funds of up to 50 billion soums from the off-budget Fund for the Development of the Fuel and Energy Industry of the Ministry of Energy to cover the costs associated with organizing the activities of the Institute, including the formation and strengthening of its material and technical base, the purchase of goods in accordance with the formed list and repair buildings of the Institute, as well as expediting research in the identified areas, widespread introduction of innovations, attracting leading foreign scientists to research, training and advanced training of the Institute's employees in 2021.
By the end of 2021, together with the Ministry of Innovative Development and the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction, a National Strategy for the Development of Renewable and Hydrogen Energy should be developed and submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers for approval.