Uzbekistan creates an energy investors council and sends new capacity to open tenders

Uzbekistan will establish an Energy Sector Investors Council under the Head of the Presidential Administration and offer fully prepared generation projects through open competitive tenders, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said at a dialogue with investors on 16 October, according to the presidential press service. The council is meant to resolve issues from project preparation to commissioning, and answers investors' request for a permanent mechanism on land, grid connections and technical approvals, the release says.

Tenders and upfront information

Regional capacity needs will be assessed in advance and prepared projects will go to tender, with six solar and wind projects totalling 2,200 MW to be put out in the near future, the release says. Investors are to receive upfront information on land allocation, grid connections and electricity purchase terms. The president also discussed expanding private participation in electricity distribution networks, though the release gives no detail on how.

The sector has opened to private investment and public-private partnership mechanisms over the past decade, attracting US$35 billion, and renewables now account for 31 per cent of electricity generation, according to the release. Agreements were signed for six major projects worth a combined US$4.7 billion, adding 3,000 MW of generation and 400 MW of energy storage.

A master plan to 2050 with dated milestones

For the first time, Uzbekistan will develop and publish a National Energy Master Plan to 2050, the release says. A map of available grid connection opportunities is due by 1 March, followed by the complete plan by 1 July. Because the release is dated 16 October 2026, both deadlines fall in 2027.

The 2030 targets in the release are 22,000 MW of new generation capacity, annual electricity production above 129 billion kWh, a renewables share of 54 per cent, 5,000 km of power lines with 16 major substations, and 4.5 GW of storage. New mechanisms will let green producers earn revenue from selling certificates and carbon credits, and market-based mechanisms are being introduced gradually in liquefied gas supply.

Twelve projects worth US$850 million will localise production of high-voltage equipment, storage systems and wind turbine components, and a dedicated industrial zone in Forish district will make equipment and materials for the nuclear power plant under construction, the release says. In oil and gas, exploration is under way in six investment blocks on the Ustyurt Plateau with SOCAR and BP, and 128 blocks have been prepared for potential foreign investors. University enrolment quotas in energy fields will rise from the next academic year, and state grants will fund 50 young people a year to study at leading universities abroad.

Investor meetings on the sidelines

Four further presidential releases describe meetings held on the sidelines of what they call the inaugural meeting of the Council of Foreign Investors in the Fuel and Energy Sector, a name that differs from the Energy Sector Investors Council in the dialogue release. Mirziyoyev received the heads of CAMCE, China Energy and Sinoma Energy, who discussed renewable energy, energy storage, waste processing and water supply, and he backed their proposals for a logistics hub in Andijan region, agrivoltaics and oil and gas projects, according to the release on the Chinese companies.

He also received Cemil Kazanci, chairman of Türkiye's Aksa Energy, with both sides agreeing to accelerate unnamed projects, the Aksa release says. Mehmet Cengiz, chairman of Cengiz Holding, agreed prospective thermal power plants and the modernisation of electricity distribution networks, according to the Cengiz release. Sayyid Aymen Al Busaidi, chairman of Oman-based Voltamp Energy, discussed solar power plants and high-voltage transformer production, and the two sides agreed to work under a jointly developed roadmap, the Voltamp release says.

None of the four releases gives project values or capacities, and only the Andijan logistics hub has a location. The dialogue release does not describe changes to tariffs, licensing or the sector regulator, so the investor council, the tender pipeline and the master plan deadlines are the concrete institutional steps announced.