Renewable energy in Central Asia: An overview of potentials, deployment, outlook, and barriers

Abstract This paper provides a comprehensive yet concise overview of the potential, deployment, outlook, and barriers to renewable energy including small-scale hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal and bioenergy for the five Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Small-scale hydropower potential estimates range from 275 MW to 30,000 MW, solar PV from 195,000 MW to 3,760,000 MW, wind from 1500 MW to 354,000 MW, geothermal from 2 MW to 54,000 MW, and bioenergy from 200 MW to 800 MW. However, deployment is minuscule: 5–225 MW in small-scale hydropower across five countries, whereas only Kazakhstan deployed large-scale solar PV (>800 MW) and wind (>300 MW). Though there are strategies and programs to increase deployment, with Kazakhstan in the lead, other countries lag behind in their efforts. A number of barriers hinder the development of renewable energy in the region, including issues with regulatory framework, infrastructure, finances, expertise, awareness and support, and data and information. Because these obstacles are interrelated, a cross-sector and integrated approach is necessary to overcome them. Renewable energy can help Central Asian countries satisfy a growing energy demand and avoid the negative environmental impacts of using fossil fuels.