OREANDA-NEWS. February 21, 2012. International Solar Energy Institute was launched in Uzbekistan, which should enable the country to become an international knowledge hub and solar technology exporter.

International Solar Energy Institute was created at the financial assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda said: “Solar has been shown to provide the most renewable potential for Uzbekistan. Harnessing it to fuel development is no longer simply an option - it is a necessity,”

“ADB supports Uzbekistan’s commitment to building expertise, research, innovation and manufacturing capacity, and to making cost-effective investments in clean energy infrastructure, technologies and practices,” he added.

The International Solar Energy Institute (ISEI) is envisioned to become an internationally recognized source of expertise for solar energy education, training and technology. Its applied research will bring innovation, promote technology transfer and spur efficient and economic solar technology use.

According to some calculations, opportunity of renewable energy in Uzbekistan can be equal to 51 billion tonnes of oil.

Current technologies will allow Uzbekistan to produce energy equal to 179 million tonnes, which exceeds the volume of produced energy in Uzbekistan three times and allows to cut emission of 447 million tonnes of carbonic acid gases, various sulphureous compounds, nitric oxide, etc.