Photo: daryo.uz
French renewable energy company Voltalia has signed an agreement with Uzbekistan for the sale of electricity from its hybrid energy project in the Bukhara region. The contract was signed on behalf of the Central Asian republic by the leadership of Uzenergosotish, according to a press release from the European company.
The agreement concerns the Artemisya project, which includes the construction of a 125-megawatt solar power plant, a 300-megawatt wind farm, and an energy storage system with a capacity of 100–200 megawatt-hours.
The deal is structured as a long-term partnership: electricity sales from the solar and wind plants are set for a 25-year period, while the storage facility contract will last 15 years. The agreement is expected to ensure the financial viability of the large-scale project, which aims to meet Uzbekistan’s growing energy needs, particularly during peak demand periods. According to Voltalia, annual output from the Artemisya cluster will be equivalent to the electricity consumption of 2.5 million Uzbek residents. Additionally, the project is projected to prevent the release of 598,000 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Construction of the solar power plant and storage facility is set to begin in the first quarter of 2026, while work on the wind farm is scheduled to start in the third quarter of the same year.
“This signing demonstrates our firm commitment to supporting Uzbekistan in its energy transition. Following discussions that began on this project in 2022, we are now finalizing a significant power purchase agreement, further strengthening our presence in the country,” said Voltalia CEO Robert Klein.
Voltalia has also reached an agreement with the Uzbek government on key conditions for building an energy storage system with a capacity of up to 1 gigawatt-hour. In addition, the company signed a contract for Uzbekistan’s first agrivoltaic project—a 500-kilowatt facility in the Tashkent region, slated for commissioning in August this year.
Representatives of the French company reaffirmed their support for Uzbekistan’s goal of reaching 8 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2026 and 12 gigawatts by 2030.
The agreements were signed as part of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s state visit to Paris.
In November 2022, Voltalia signed an initial agreement with the Uzbek government to begin developing the hybrid energy cluster in the Bukhara region. A year later, during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Tashkent, the two sides signed a protocol outlining the next steps in the implementation of the Artemisya project.
