Uzbekistan is taking a number of measures to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere, announced Deputy Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Shukhrat Vafoev on November 9 at a conference in Frankfurt am Main.
“This is interesting for us. We are working on using ammonium as fuel. We have also created a special institute with European and Middle Eastern partners who are working on the "green" hydrogen project. In general, decarbonization is a policy priority. We have adopted a strategy for decarbonizing the economy as a whole this year,” he said.
The deputy minister said that the projects of renewable energy sources (RES), which are under construction and will be launched by the end of 2023, will allow Uzbekistan to bring the share of renewable energy sources - wind and solar energy - to at least 25%.
“We will continue to launch new projects every year, so 50% is not a major issue for Uzbekistan,” he said.
According to him, the only issue with renewable energy sources that the country needs to resolve is the impact of alternative energy sources on the stability of the grid.
“The solution for this would be batteries for natural storage of energy. We have large reservoirs that allow us to do this. At the next stage, within 2-3 years, we will show our partners our proposals and thoughts in this regard for joint implementation,” he said.
Shukhrat Vafoev noted that the "green" hydrogen project in Uzbekistan is still being worked out "conceptually".
“So far, unfortunately, I cannot say how much hydrogen we will supply to Europe. Especially considering that it requires a large amount of water, and Uzbekistan, unfortunately, does not have large surpluses of water,” he admitted.
