OSCE holds workshop in Uzbekistan to promote renewable energy in Central Asia

TASHKENT, 3 October 2013 – An OSCE-organized regional workshop on best practices in promoting renewable energy started today in Tashkent.

Officials and civil society representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan shared their experiences and discussed their daily work with experts from Georgia, Norway, Spain and Sweden.

The two-day workshop is organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan and the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, together with Uzbek State Committee for Nature Protection of Uzbekistan, the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia, Central Asia Regional Economic Co-operation programme, and the newly established Central Asian Regional Centre on Renewable Energy Sources.

“The question as it stands now is no longer ‘if’ we should focus on renewable energy, but rather ‘how, where and when’”, Ambassador György Szabó, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan said in his opening speech. “This is a positive and exciting challenge faced by countries all over the world, and especially by Central Asian countries that have enormous potential and could benefit from regional co-operation in renewable energy development and promoting energy security.” Szabó also said that the workshop provided a good opportunity to start working in this direction by sharing best practices.

Eighty participants who took part in the workshop discussed solar, wind, micro hydro, and geothermal technologies, as well as the necessity of supportive political framework conditions for the development of renewable energy. Standardization and ways to address the shortage of energy supplies in remote areas without electricity were also debated.

The workshop is expected to produce a number of recommendations to advance regional co-operation and measures at the national level, as well as to encourage international organizations to support the process in technical and financial terms.

TASHKENT, 3 October 2013 – An OSCE-organized regional workshop on best practices in promoting renewable energy started today in Tashkent.

Officials and civil society representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan shared their experiences and discussed their daily work with experts from Georgia, Norway, Spain and Sweden.

The two-day workshop is organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan and the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, together with Uzbek State Committee for Nature Protection of Uzbekistan, the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia, Central Asia Regional Economic Co-operation programme, and the newly established Central Asian Regional Centre on Renewable Energy Sources.

“The question as it stands now is no longer ‘if’ we should focus on renewable energy, but rather ‘how, where and when’”, Ambassador György Szabó, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan said in his opening speech. “This is a positive and exciting challenge faced by countries all over the world, and especially by Central Asian countries that have enormous potential and could benefit from regional co-operation in renewable energy development and promoting energy security.” Szabó also said that the workshop provided a good opportunity to start working in this direction by sharing best practices.

Eighty participants who took part in the workshop discussed solar, wind, micro hydro, and geothermal technologies, as well as the necessity of supportive political framework conditions for the development of renewable energy. Standardization and ways to address the shortage of energy supplies in remote areas without electricity were also debated.

The workshop is expected to produce a number of recommendations to advance regional co-operation and measures at the national level, as well as to encourage international organizations to support the process in technical and financial terms.