For Immediate Release
Press Release
December 13, 2023, Bishkek, the Kyrgyz Republic – The Kyrgyz State Technical University (KSTU) officially inaugurated the Kyrgyz Republic’s first rooftop grid-connected photovoltaic solar plant. This Kyrgyz-U.S. partnership was made possible through the United States Agency for International Development´s (USAID) Power Central Asia activity. The 80 kilowatt solar power installation was completed in September and will yield 143,037 kilowatt hours annually. This clean energy source will also reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 67,216 kilograms per year. The solar plant serves dual purposes: it will generate electricity and function as an educational resource for KSTU students and other institutions. Additionally, USAID is developing a comprehensive guide for rooftop solar system developers to replicate this successful pilot.
Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Akylbek Japarov, Minister of Energy Taalaibek Ibrayev, Deputy Minister of Education Abazbek uulu Rasul, Rector of KSTU Mirlan Chynybaev, U.S. Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic Lesslie Viguerie, and USAID Mission Director Kaya Adams, participated in the official inauguration ceremony. Other high-level ministerial representatives, key energy sector stakeholders, and the international donor community also attended.
In his remarks, Ambassador Viguerie said, “This on-grid system enables the university to produce enough electricity to meet its needs. What makes it more remarkable is the fact that it is connected to the national grid and can sell back excess production to the government. This is a win-win for the university and for the people of Bishkek, who then benefit from inexpensive green energy. It serves as a model that we hope will encourage businesses and public institutions to expand the use of modern energy technologies and meet their national energy priorities.”
The USAID Power Central Asia activity is a five-year, regional energy program that is helping the five Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to meet their economic priorities by developing the energy sector. The activity helps to improve the performance of the energy sector, introduce clean energy in a competitive manner, and improve energy security and resiliency through greater regional connectivity and expanded cross-border electricity trade. To date, through this activity alone, USAID has leveraged $2.2 billion in clean energy investments and facilitated the installation of 2,241 megawatts of clean energy capacity across Central Asia.
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USAID is the world's leading international development agency and a catalyst for achieving development results. For more information, visit: https://www.usaid.gov/kyrgyz-republic and USAID Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/USAIDKyrgyzRepublic.
