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WaterPowerMagazine

The World Bank has approved a $150 million concessional loan to help Uzbekistan expand its small hydropower sector and improve electricity supply across the country. The project will involve private sector participation, including local developers and banks.

Electricity demand in Uzbekistan is expected to double by 2030, reaching more than 120 billion kilowatt-hours. Although electricity production is increasing, about 10 percent of demand remains unmet. This has led to frequent outages, especially in rural and underserved areas, due to problems in transmission and distribution.

The new project will support the development of small hydropower plants (SHPPs), with capacities between 100kW and 5MW. These plants will operate on existing irrigation canals, making them suitable for distributed electricity generation in regions with limited access to reliable power.