Tajikistan will develop solar and wind energy due to the loss of glaciers
The government decree approved on March 2 this year by the Ministry of Energy of Tajikistan and the relevant ministries and departments instructed to take practical measures for the construction of solar power plants in the regions of the country.
According to the country's statistical agency, about 21.4 billion kWh of electricity was produced in the republic in 2022. In particular, 93.1% of electricity is generated by hydroelectric power plants (HPPs), about 6.9% - by thermal power plants, and 0.001% comes from solar energy.
The hydropower potential of Tajikistan, according to the Ministry of Energy, is 527 billion kWh of electricity per year, of which only about 4% is currently used. According to this indicator, the republic ranks eighth in the world after China, Russia, the USA, Brazil, Zaire, India and Canada, and first in Central Asia.
According to the Agency for Hydrometeorology of Tajikistan, the duration of sunshine in the country is 2100-3166 hours per year, and the number of sunny days per year ranges from 260 to 300.
The potential for the use of solar energy in Tajikistan, according to the calculations of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic, is 3103 billion kWh per year. The wind energy potential of the republic, according to the estimates of the country's power engineers, ranges from 30 to 100 billion kWh per year.
Earlier, on March 15, at a meeting of energy ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries, the head of the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources of Tajikistan, Daler Juma, said that the energy sector did not stand aside from the negative processes occurring due to climate change.
"It is common knowledge that the water used in power plants comes from glaciers, which, unfortunately, have been melting rapidly in recent years," he said.
According to the minister, the glaciers of Tajikistan have lost 30% of their volume over the past century.
"Tajikistan, in terms of adapting to today's realities, plans to increase electricity production through the introduction of renewable energy sources," he said.
The minister said that the installed capacity of electricity generation from solar and wind energy by 2030 should be at least 700 MW.
"In this direction, together with development partners, a project of several solar stations is being developed," he stressed.
The total capacity of the electric power system of Tajikistan, according to the Ministry of Energy, is currently about 6,000 MW.
At the same time, the Tajik minister noted that the construction of the Rogun hydroelectric power station is ongoing, which, according to him, "in the future will ensure energy security not only for Tajikistan, but will also help increase the volume of electricity exports to neighbors."
He stressed the importance of interregional investment projects, the development of green energy, the creation and reconstruction of new sources of electricity generation, including two power plants that will be built in the Zarafshon River basin as part of cooperation between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Daler Juma added that the total investment of the SCO member countries in the energy sector of Tajikistan is more than $1.3 billion.