Making the Most of the Sun in Mongolia Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

140K

TONs OF CO₂ EMIssIONs REdUCEd ANNUAllY

Inhabitants 467,600

GdP per capita $1,251

Geographic area 35 km²

ThE ChAllENGE

Largely covered by the Kyzylkum desert, Navoi’s potential as a viable site for large-scale solar park development has not been tapped fully.

CO-BENEFITs

Economic

By contributing to energy security, the project will help to protect against energy unreliability, preventing economic losses.

Social

Developing solar and other renewables will create green jobs for the people of Uzbekistan.

navoi, UzBeKistan harnessing sunshine in Uzbekistan for the first time

Uzbekistan is rich in sunshine hours, yet 90% of its electricity is sourced from fossil fuels. The country’s first solar park will initiate a transition to renewables for electricity needs and push this number down.

A new PV solar park will be established in Navoi, a region in the north of Uzbekistan mostly covered by the Kyzylkum desert. The region will host what is hoped to be the first of multiple large-scale solar parks, with a starting capacity of 100 megawatts (MW) and an estimated production output of 255 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, enough to power 150,000 homes. It will also reduce an estimated 140,000 tCO2 displacement of fossil fuel generation. e emissions every year through the

The power plant will start supplying the grid in the first quarter of 2022 and will reshuffle Uzbekistan’s energy portfolio and grow the share of renewables beyond the current 10% that is held by hydropower. With a goal to bring renewables' share to 25% by 2030 on the national agenda, 9% is planned to be held by solar power, with the remaining 11% to be held by hydropower and 5% by wind power.

The project received a $13 million loan from ADB and an $8 million loan from the ADB-administered Canadian Climate Fund.

Uzbekistan’s clean energy target. Uzbekistan is aiming to have 25% renewable energy by 2030 (photo by ADB).