India Eyes $35B Uzbekistan Clean Energy Market

Uzbekistan just pulled off one of the fastest renewable energy transformations in Central Asia, and India is positioning itself to be part of what comes next.

The landlocked nation has grown its renewable energy capacity from just 1,883 megawatts in 2016 to over 10,000 megawatts by the end of 2025. Solar power now accounts for more than half of that total, marking a dramatic shift for a country that historically relied on natural gas for 83 percent of its energy.

The turnaround addresses a real crisis. Uzbekistan flipped from energy exporter to importer in 2020, watching its fossil fuel export value drop by half while import costs more than doubled. With power infrastructure dating back to the Soviet era, the country needed a new path forward fast.

International investors noticed. The United Arab Emirates' Masdar has built five solar plants and a 500-megawatt wind facility since 2019. Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power is targeting $25 billion in investments by decade's end. Chinese firms poured $1.4 billion into Uzbekistan's solar and wind sectors in 2023 alone, including financing the country's first utility-scale solar project.

The results speak for themselves. In the first half of 2026, Uzbekistan's solar and wind plants generated 5 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, a 28 percent jump from the previous year. That saved 2.1 billion cubic meters of natural gas and avoided more than 4.6 million tonnes of emissions.

Uzbekistan has committed to sourcing 50 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050. Another 16 power plants totaling 3,500 megawatts are currently under construction across four regions.

The Ripple Effect

This transformation is creating opportunities that reach far beyond Uzbekistan's borders. As one of Central Asia's largest electricity markets, the country's renewable buildout is reshaping regional energy flows and proving that rapid clean energy transitions are possible even in gas-dependent economies.

For India, the opportunity is clear. The country has strong diplomatic ties with Uzbekistan and growing renewable energy expertise at home, including an increasingly competitive solar manufacturing base. What it hasn't yet done is translate that diplomatic goodwill into major project-level participation.

Gulf and Chinese firms got there first by combining financing, engineering expertise, and fast execution. India now has the chance to bring its own technological capabilities and institutional frameworks to the table, potentially becoming a long-term renewable energy partner in a market that's proven it can absorb billions in clean energy investment.

The window is open, and the market is only getting bigger.