USAID aims to assist Uzbekistan to meet its national energy priorities

By Trend

The USAID aims to assist Uzbekistan to meet its national energy priorities, USAID told Trend.

The agency said in the energy field, it is committed to help Uzbekistan liberalize the power sector, to encourage greater private investment, rebuild a regional Central Asian power market, and generate low-cost energy using a diverse mix of energy resources - particularly wind, solar, and hydro.

Also, USAID is helping to advance regional electricity connectivity through the Central Asia Regional Electricity Market (CAREM). CAREM supports a regional electricity market that can deploy low-cost power from across Central Asian countries to meet the needs of each country in support of greater economic and social development.

"An integrated electricity market will save money, enhance energy security and economic stability, and facilitate commercial trade transactions and attract investments in the power sectors of all five Central Asian countries," the USAID said.

In addition, it was noted that applying market-based mechanisms that drive down the costs of grid-connected renewable energy and improving system operations and energy efficiency of existing generation facilities, can increase deployment and integration of regional wind and solar energy to improve cross-border cooperation.

Moreover, the USAID is providing Uzbek energy specialists and government policymakers with best global practices, technologies, and analysis to plan and build a national power grid that is capable of integrating high-levels of renewable energy, helping the country reach its clean energy goals through the USAID Power the Future activity.

"Through the recently launched USAID Power Central Asia, a new five-year, $39 million regional energy program, the USAID aims to assist Uzbekistan to meet its national energy priorities and reap economic benefits from the modernization of the energy sector, clean energy generation, and regional connectivity through cross-border energy trading to improve energy security and resilience," the message said.

The USAID has also just launched a new partnership with the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to improve Uzbekistan’s ability to build electricity networks with robust cybersecurity.

As for the future projects, the USAID noted that Uzbekistan is undergoing profound changes and the agency is making critical contributions to Uzbekistan’s long-term stability and prosperity. The establishment of a bilateral USAID mission in September 2020 reflects the US Government’s long-term commitment to the government and people of Uzbekistan.

"The USAID will continue current programs focused on improving economic growth, private sector development, agriculture, renewable energy, education, health, water resource management, and rule of law as well as issues related to migration and trafficking-in-persons. The new mission in Uzbekistan will allow USAID to target these programs more effectively and will help USAID build relationships with an even wider range of local partners," said the agency.