Environmental safety of power industry development in the Central Asian region

German Kazakh University; Trofimov, German; Nasirov, T.; Institute of Energy Problems of Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, 2-B Ch. Aitmatov str., Tashkent, 100052 Republic of Uzbekistan; Khamidov, Sh.; Institute of Energy Problems of Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, 2-B Ch. Aitmatov str., Tashkent, 100052 Republic of Uzbekistan

Environmental safety of power industry development in the Central Asian region

2023

German Kazakh University | Trofimov, German | Nasirov, T. | Institute of Energy Problems of Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, 2-B Ch. Aitmatov str., Tashkent, 100052 Republic of Uzbekistan | Khamidov, Sh. | Institute of Energy Problems of Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, 2-B Ch. Aitmatov str., Tashkent, 100052 Republic of Uzbekistan

This research has aimed to investigate the environmental aspects of the further development of energy systems in Central Asia (CA) based on traditional and renewable energy (RE). To analyze the situation at present, the article reviews the energy profiles of Central Asian states, their respective primary energy consumption and overall CO2 emissions distribution, as well as GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, current state of the energy sectors, fuel consumption structure, energy efficiency and wear of power equipment, with the focus on Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as the countries leading power consumption and related emissions in the region. However, the conclusions and recommendations presented in the article are equally appropriate for all Central Asian countries. As per the UN sustainable development policy document, the choice of power supply sources should be guided not only by the analysis of financial costs, but also the assessment of environmental impacts. Thus, in order to ensure such choices are environmentally safe and galvanize green projects, as well as foster sustainable development of target nations, the research team proposes a mechanism of applying a taxonomy similar to that in the European Union (EU) allowing the most expedient use of allocated financial resources. The article presents a methodology for estimating GHG and pollutant emissions into the atmosphere by thermal power plants (TPP), as well as explores the expediency of using energy storage units to support large-scale RE integration across CA with the aim of ensuring eco-safety of energy developments in the region.

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