Korea completes first megawatt-scale solar plant in Tajikistan

The environment ministry said Sunday that a Korean-funded solar power plant has been completed in Tajikistan, the first megawatt-scale solar facility built in the Central Asian country.

The project, an official development assistance program carried out by the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology, built a 3-megawatt solar plant and a 0.5-megawatt energy storage system in the Sug and Gorno-Badakhshan regions, both of which suffer from power shortages. It was commissioned at a ceremony in Gorno-Badakhshan that also marked the completion of two related projects carried out jointly with the World Bank and the European Union. Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Energy and Water Resources Minister Daler Juma, Korean Ambassador to Tajikistan Jeon Seong-sik and representatives of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power attended.

"The completion of this ODA solar power plant in Tajikistan is a symbolic achievement that overcame a harsh high-altitude environment and demonstrated the excellence of K-renewable energy technology in the center of Central Asia," said Kim Ji-young, the ministry's director of international cooperation.

The ministry said the plant is expected to act as a catalyst for expanding renewable energy deployment in Tajikistan, which had no solar installation of this size before. Domestic solar modules and energy storage systems were installed and demonstrated at high altitude and in severe climate conditions, which the ministry said proved the quality and technical reliability of Korean equipment internationally.

The ministry said it plans to turn operating data from the demonstration into an asset for Korean companies' solar and energy storage supply chains, and will pursue exports of renewable energy equipment and green industry products to markets in Central Asia and beyond.