Tajikistan is a country rich in hydro resources, the mountainous terrain and the presence of rivers allows the construction of high dams and large hydroelectric power plants (HPPs), which is done in the country – 95% of electricity is generated by 14 large and medium-sized HPPs. The use of hydroelectric power stations in itself is considered a “green” way of generating electricity, but still, according to environmentalists, it is necessary to think about alternatives. And here solar and wind power are of great importance for the country.
Renewable energy sources or briefly RES – this is the very “green” energy, which began to be talked about more often in the discussion of topics related to climate change and diversification of energy production. All because it became clear that fossil fuels (gas, oil, and uranium) are not limitless and eventually humankind will exhaust these resources.
That is why many countries are trying to find the best alternative. In Central Asia, this is mainly sun, water and wind.
The potential of solar and wind energy in Tajikistan is quite high. The country is located between 36°40′ and 41°05′ north latitude. Meteorologists calls this zone a “golden belt” of sunshine.
According to the Agency of 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. This provides great opportunities for the use of solar energy as an alternative, especially in mountainous regions where there are no power lines.
Preliminary calculations of the Ministry of Energy of Tajikistan have shown that the potential for the use of solar energy is 3,103 billion kWh per year. This amount would be enough to cover the winter power shortage partially in Tajikistan in regions of the country where 70% of the population lives.
It should be noted that in Tajikistan, the energy balance in summer and winter is disturbed: in summer there is an overabundance of electricity, and in winter – deficit, due to which in many regions of the country is introduced 8-10 hour limit on electricity and 2021 is no exception.
As for wind, the wind energy potential of the republic, although not well studied, yet according to various estimates it ranges from 30 to 100 billion kWh per year. Given this data, we can say that wind energy can compete with the country’s hydropower potential.
Judging by information from the Ministry of Energy of Tajikistan, there are only 9 wind turbines with a total capacity of 5.1 kilowatts and 2,433 solar generators with a total capacity of only 8.87 kilowatts in the country.
Many Tajik experts and the Ministry of Energy claim that wind and solar power are expensive resources for generating electricity. They cite the price of electricity as an example: 1 kWh of electricity produced by hydroelectric plants currently costs 22.66 dirams (2.5 cents), while 1 kWh of wind power, for example, costs about 20 cents, according to countries that use that energy.
Still, in 2020, the country’s first solar power plant was launched in Murghab (Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast). This happened with the cooperation of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Pamir Energy.
The solar power station has a capacity of 220 kW. For comparison, the capacity of the smallest hydropower plant in Tajikistan – Varzob Hydropower Plant-3 is 3.52 MW, and the largest operating hydroelectric power plant – Nurek – 3000 MW and it generates 70% of electricity consumed in Tajikistan.
In Tajikistan, alternative energy sources account for approximately 2% of the total energy balance and are mainly micro and mini-hydro power plants, 95% are large hydropower plants, and 3% are thermal power plants that use coal. About 300 small HPPs have been built in the country. At the same time, there is a potential to build another 600 small HPPs.
According to preliminary expert estimates, the potential of small hydropower in the country is 18 billion kWh per year. For comparison, the country’s energy sector generated 19.7 billion kWh in 2020. Therefore, the potential of micro and small HPPs is very high, but their problem, as with large HPPs, is that the operation of hydro depends on the water level in the rivers, which decreases with the onset of cold weather.
Therefore, ecologist Natalia Idrisova believes that it is necessary to look for alternatives to hydro resources, as relying on one source is always risky and diversification is needed.
“Yes, water is a renewable source of energy and we have plenty of it. However, there is a risk that under the influence of climate change its volume will gradually decrease over the years, taking into account the rapid melting of glaciers. Therefore, we need an alternative, and that requires government support and subsidies, which are not there yet. There is a general vision, they say it is necessary, but nothing serious is being done,” she says.
In Tajikistan, in 2010 a law “On the use of renewable energy sources” was adopted, several programs for the development of renewable energy sources and the construction of small hydropower plants were approved, the last was for the period 2016-2020. This program mainly dealt with the construction of 64 small hydropower plants with a total installed capacity of 5 to 10,000 kW.
The importance of finding an alternative is urgent now, because according to the Ministry of Energy, 10% of Tajikistan’s population has no access to electricity, which is already almost a million people. They live in the highlands, where the mountainous terrain and harsh weather conditions make it difficult, expensive and unreliable to lay power lines. That is why having solar panels or wind turbines would solve the issue of electrification of remote areas of the country.
Tajikistan has attempted to implement this practice, but with the help of international organizations that provide grants for renewable energy projects. The population of mountainous areas cannot afford to buy and install solar panels due to limited finances.
And while they do not have access to electricity, they use other energy resources. This is mainly biofuel in the form of firewood. The use of wood is still quite popular in the regions, especially with the arrival of winter and the introduction of the limit on electricity. This leads to unauthorized felling of trees and degradation of forests in Tajikistan, although the country was not rich in this regard, as it was.
According to experts, at the beginning of the 20th century the area of forests was 20% of the country, but over the past 10-20 years it has decreased to 3% and Tajikistan ranks last among Central Asian countries in terms of forest cover. Reforestation is a difficult task, but it is most likely impossible without the development of alternative energy.
This publication was produced as part of the mentorship programme under the Development of New Media and Digital Journalism in Central Asia project delivered by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) with support from the UK Government. It does not necessarily reflect the official views of IWPR or the UK Government