Renewable Energy in Uzbekistan: A Key to Future Development?

A seminar hosted by the Central Asia Caucasus Institute (CACI) and the American-Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce (AUCC) on Wednesday, May 21, 2008, at the Uzbek Embassy.

Listen to audio of event HERE.

The event was co-chaired by the Honorable Elyor Ganiev, Minister for Foreign Economic Relations, Investment and Trade of Uzbekistan, and Mr. Alan Hegburg, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Energy Policy at the US Department of Energy. Dr. S. Frederick Starr, Chairman of CACI, moderated the discussion.

Further speakers included Mr. Anatoliy Khristich, Deputy Chairman and Civil Engineer of the Association of Uzeltechsanoat (Uzbek Electric Technical Industry), FOTON, Mr. James Horgen, Associate Director of Solar Power Limited, LLC, Dr. Foster A. Agblevor, Associate Professor at the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech, and Mr. Lawrence Markel, Consultant at Sentech, Inc.

Dr. Starr opened the seminar by commenting on the finite nature of fossil fuel resources. He hoped that this event would contribute to the broadening Uzbekistan’s energy sources and welcomed the co-chairs of the seminar, the Mr. Ganiev and Mr. Hegburg.

In his introductory remarks, Mr. Hegburg cited the US government’s annual energy outlook. Currently, world oil use amounts to roughly 85 million barrels per day, a number that is slated to increase to 130 million barrels per day in 2030. Given this huge projected increase, new sources will have to be found to supplement today’s dwindling oil fields. Technological innovation will likely play a major role in this effort.

While he deemed output at a rate of 130 million barrels per day achievable, Mr. Hegburg posed the questions of its desirability and sustainability. Moreover, the impact of such an elevated level of oil use on climate change has to be considered. Mr. Hegburg pointed to the efforts undertaken by both the public and the private sector in dealing with these questions, for example the increasing use of carbon footprints by large companies. In conclusion, Mr. Hegburg stated his optimism regarding the penetration rates of new fuels.

Next, Mr. Ganiev commented on his country’s strong reliance on traditional energy resources. Uzbekistan’s natural gas reserves are among the ten largest in the world. Yet, his government is well aware of the fact that gas and oil reserves will be exhausted at some point in the future. Conservation is therefore very important with regard to future generations as well as the environment. Alternative energy sources will play a key role in achieving these objectives.

According to Mr. Ganiev, energy-saving technologies may lower emissions and improve efficiency. Until recently, alternative energy sources like solar energy were simply too expensive. However, with the rise of electricity prices, solar power has become a very topical issue in Uzbekistan. In remote areas, solar power is often more feasible and cheaper than the construction of high voltage power lines. Uzbek companies are already engaged in the production of solar batteries and components, and the country’s scientists and resources may act as a platform for American companies and their technologies, Mr. Ganiev noted. As a member of the CIS free trade zone, Uzbekistan is able to export its products across Central Asia and beyond.

Mr. Khristich, speaking on the potential of solar energy in Uzbekistan, pointed to the country’s colossal resources in renewables. For about nine months per year, Uzbekistan enjoys at least ten hours of sunlight per day, making solar power generation very attractive. FOTON’s efforts have thus been directed at designing and constructing photoelectric power plants using conventional silicon solar cells.

The current solar power plants in operation are rather small, ranging from 100 to 1000 watts. However, FOTON has plans for larger facilities of up to 5000 watts. Though customized, these plants can be connected to the power grid. Overall, Mr. Khristich estimated Uzbekistan’s solar power production to reach 100 kW in 2008, 300 kW in 2009 and 1 MW in 2010. Production of solar collectors for thermal transformation is slated to quintuple from 2008 to 2011, using technology imported from Denmark.

Mr. Khristich pointed to the multifaceted applications of small solar power plants in supplying electricity to villages, hospitals, national parks and pipeline surveillance stations. Presently, 107 of such small plants exist in Uzbekistan. Hence, Mr. Khristich concluded that the country has the capacity and experience necessary to design and develop renewable energy technologies that are in compliance with national and international standards. He called for the swift passage of a law on the development of renewable energy in Uzbekistan, which is currently being drafted in parliament. In Mr. Khristich’s view, this law needs to outline the national strategy on renewables and provide an incentive mechanism in order to attract more investment to the sector.

Next, Dr. Agblevor elaborated on the potential of biofuel production from agricultural wastes, which may yield both chemicals and energy. Given today’s high energy costs, agricultural wastes should be viewed as resources. The production of cotton generates significant gin waste that is difficult to dispose of in landfills. However, since cotton fiber is a much cleaner source of cellulose than wood, for example, treating cotton waste with steam and letting microorganisms do their work will yield substantial amounts of biofuel. Dr. Agblevor estimated that up to 10 million gallons of ethanol could be produced from cotton waste in Uzbekistan per year.

Dr. Agblevor referred to a proposal by Uzbek scientists for cotton waste conversion that is currently awaiting approval by the Uzbek Academy of Sciences. Upon ending his talk, Dr. Agblevor also briefly mentioned other forms of agricultural waste conversion, for example the thermochemical processing of poultry litter that yields synthetic oil.

Mr. Horgen gave a brief presentation about the advantages of small solar power plants in remote areas. Their construction often revolutionizes people’s lives, as they no longer have to depend on kerosene or car batteries for power. Small-scale solar plants make water pumping, street lighting, communication and household electricity more reliable. However, once a small local power grid is in place, electricity demand tends to increase significantly as people desire new electric appliances.

Mr. Horgen urged the Uzbek government to consider the benefit of solar power in remote applications and to actively promote this advanced technology among the population. In conclusion, Mr. Horgen reiterated the potential of Central Asia’s large areas of unusable and unused land for the construction of solar farms. If the latter were also manufactured in the region, they could have a significant impact on employment.

Lastly, Mr. Markel gave an assessment of the potential market for renewable energy in Uzbekistan and Central Asia. He pointed to various problems facing the countries in the region, from finite natural gas deposits to droughts, limited water supplies, lack of potable water, soil erosion, salination and desertification. In Uzbekistan, 1.5 million people are still not connected to the power grid, which severely impacts their quality of life. Many people thus leave the countryside for towns and cities, where they often cannot find employment.

Alternative technologies in agriculture and irrigation can help reverse this trend. For example, Mr. Markel mentioned drip and pivot irrigation, crop alternation and no tilling techniques. In addition, renewable energies can raise the standard of living by capturing a number of niche applications at farms, water pumping and purification stations, schools, clinics, crop processing, cell phone towers, etc. According to Mr. Markel, creating village power systems ought to be preferred over small individual systems.

Given the variety of applications of solar power, Mr. Markel saw great potential for the export of solar panels across the region. Like Mr. Khristich, he called on the Uzbek government to develop a national strategy for renewable energy, which should include the international certification of carbon credits, the preservation of fossil fuel reserves, supporting legislation and tax incentives as well as the creation of a central agency that would function as a one-stop access point for investors.

The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute is a leading center conducting fundamental and applied research on an important world region. It has offices at SAIS (Johns Hopkins University), Washington, and in Stockholm, Sweden, through a Joint Center with the Silk Road Studies Program (Institute for Security and Development Policy). This Joint Center publishes the Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst (cacianalyst.org), the China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly, and the Silk Road Papers as well as books and monographs. Additional information about the Joint Center is available at www.silkroadstudies.org .