Tashkent, Uzbekistan, May 4
By Demir Azizov– Trend:
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev by his decree has approved the country’s hydropower engineering development program for 2017-2022, the press service of the Uzbek president said.
The program envisages construction of new hydroelectric power plants and modernization of existing ones through wide use of environmentally friendly renewable energy sources.
In total, it is planned to build 42 new and modernize 32 existing hydroelectric power plants within the program.
The construction and modernization of hydroelectric power plants should be carried out with the introduction of modern and well-grounded scientific and technical solutions, while ensuring preservation of the existing flora and fauna during the construction of hydraulic structures.
Currently, 45 power plants with the capacity of nearly 13,000 megawatts, including 16 power plants of Uzbekenergo with the total capacity of 12,040 megawatts, operate in Uzbekistan's power supply system.
Up to 90 percent of electricity is produced by 10 thermal power plants of Uzbekenergo with the total installed capacity of 10,600 megawatts. The company's 29 hydropower plants with the installed capacity of 1,400 megawatts are mostly united within hydropower plant cascades.
The rest of the electricity is generated by autonomous thermal power stations of the industrial enterprises and small hydroelectric power stations belonging to the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources.