TY - JOUR
T1 - A double paradox of plenty
T2 - renewable energy deployment in Central Asia
AU - Shadrina, Elena
N1 - Funding Information:
In summary, apart from Turkmenistan, none of these states legally stipulates state ownership in the electricity sector. However, Kazakhstan implemented privatization of state-owned energy assets and introduced noticeable market reforms in the electricity sector (Boute ). Since 2018, Kazakhstan practices RE capacity auctions with foreign companies’ active engagement. Uzbekistan initiated reforms in 2017 and appears to be determined to put in place a functioning RE policy. In October 2019, Uzbekistan held its first competitive tender for a 100 MW solar project based upon the PPP scheme, sponsored by the World Bank’s Scaling Solar program, and supported by the Swiss, Austrian, and Dutch governments, according to the PVTech website. Turkmenistan has so far implemented very modest steps toward NHRE development, focusing on climate change. In Tajikistan, large-scale hydropower remains the pivotal element of energy policy. Development of NHRE in Kyrgyzstan is delayed, a result of a lack of strategic planning and regulatory procedures. Privatization in the electricity sector was halted following the national gas sector’s shift under the control of Russian state-owned company Gazprom (Shadrina ). Overall, market reforms in the energy sectors of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have stalled, not least because this matches the interests of external businesses, particularly from Russia and China, the largest investors in these Central Asian economies (Shadrina ; Boute ; Kitade ). Lately, Uzbekistan, like Kazakhstan, has started encouraging public–private partnerships in the electricity sector (Boute ), which proved to be an effective tool for NHRE diffusion in developing economies (Gabriel ). Furthermore, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have been promoting the enhancement of intraregional and international cooperation on renewable energy and climate change, holding annual events, and regularly organizing international business forums on NHRE investment and financing.
Funding Information:
This research was supported by Waseda University grants-in-aid under grants 2019R-069 and 2020C-710.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Greater deployment of non-hydropower renewable energy sources in Central Asia appears to be a rational solution to energy security in the region. However, renewable energy diffusion in Central Asia is at an incipient stage. Moreover, the utilization of renewable energy sources varies substantially across the region. Whereas fossil fuel-rich, more developed Central Asian economies pursue the deployment of non-hydropower renewable energy sources, water-rich, lower-income countries retain their reliance on large-scale hydropower. This article argues that wider deployment of non-hydropower renewable energy sources is critical for Central Asian countries’ sustainability and attempts to explain the double paradox of plenty through the specifics of institutional environments in energy-poor and rent-dependent Central Asian economies.
AB - Greater deployment of non-hydropower renewable energy sources in Central Asia appears to be a rational solution to energy security in the region. However, renewable energy diffusion in Central Asia is at an incipient stage. Moreover, the utilization of renewable energy sources varies substantially across the region. Whereas fossil fuel-rich, more developed Central Asian economies pursue the deployment of non-hydropower renewable energy sources, water-rich, lower-income countries retain their reliance on large-scale hydropower. This article argues that wider deployment of non-hydropower renewable energy sources is critical for Central Asian countries’ sustainability and attempts to explain the double paradox of plenty through the specifics of institutional environments in energy-poor and rent-dependent Central Asian economies.
KW - Central Asia
KW - renewable energy policy
KW - renewable energy sources
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85091063580&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1080/15387216.2020.1823868
DO - 10.1080/15387216.2020.1823868
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85091063580
VL - 63
SP - 1
EP - 26
JO - Eurasian Geography and Economics
JF - Eurasian Geography and Economics
SN - 1538-7216
IS - 1
ER -