Uzbekistan to export green energy to Europe via Kazakhstan

Uzbekistani President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has approved an agreement on strategic partnership with Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan in the field of green energy transition and development, which was initially signed during the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku, as reported by Interfax Kazakhstan.

In 2023, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy stated that Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan were set to export green energy to markets in Europe and Central Asia. In May 2024, it was reported that the countries intended to lay a deep-sea cable along the seabed of the Caspian Sea to pursue this goal.

Centro Elettrotecnico Sperimentale Italiano, an Italian provider of testing and certification services, has been hired to develop the project’s feasibility study and is already engaged in the process. Once the feasibility study is completed, the countries will begin establishing the cable. According to estimates by Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy, the project will cost over $2 billion, with the anticipated tariff for exported energy ranging from 4 to 5 cents per kilowatt at the lowest.

In August 2024, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan agreed to establish a joint venture, headquartered in Baku, focused on exporting green energy to Europe.

Uzbekistani Minister of Energy Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov emphasized that electricity would be transmitted to Europe via the Uzbekistan–Kazakhstan–Azerbaijan–Georgia route. From there, it would be transported across the Black Sea seabed to Romania and Hungary. According to the minister, Uzbekistan is ready to supply between 2 and 5 gigawatts and currently meets its domestic electricity demand.