The Uzbek authorities plan to build 20 hydropower plants, the press service of the President of Uzbekistan reports.
The total capacity of the facilities should be 740 megawatts.
According to the schedule, next year seven hydropower plants with a capacity of 170 megawatts will be opened, in 2023-2024 - 12 hydropower plants (150 megawatts), in 2025-2026 - two hydropower plants (420 megawatts).
There are also plans to build small hydropower plants with a total capacity of up to 5 megawatts that do not require dams.
The private sector is involved in this initiative.
It is planned to install small hydropower plants with a capacity of up to 500 kilowatts to supply electricity to the villages along the rivers Ugam, Naryn, Akbulak, Sokh, Tankhoz.
Construction of the Pskem hydroelectric power station has begun in Tashkent region. It has a capacity of 400 MW and a capacity of 950 million kW / h.
In 2021, Kazakhstan experienced a catastrophic drought in Mangistau and Kyzylorda oblasts. Rivers in these areas pass through Uzbekistan, which uses water for irrigation and power plants. Thus, the Aral Sea in particular has dried up. Thus, the construction of new hydropower plants in the neighboring country could threaten another drought.
