Tajikistan has released a special power plan - not pursuing installation numbers, but embedding sustainability tools into the entire project screening process. The world's first project to obtain sustainable certification for hydropower is located locally, and this plan attempts to upgrade individual cases into regulations.

From Sebuzor to global coverage

Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Prefecture is located in the Pamir Plateau, with an average elevation of over 4000 meters, and its ecological environment is extremely fragile. The Ministry of Energy and Water Resources of Tajikistan has led the release of the "2025-2050 Power System Plan", which for the first time systematically integrates hydropower sustainability assessment tools into long-term power planning and project full process management.

The confidence of this plan comes from a pioneer: the Sebuzor hydroelectric project located in the state, with an installed capacity of 11 megawatts, which will become the world's first project to obtain the HSS Gold certification for hydroelectric sustainability standards in 2023. After Tajikistan signed a memorandum of understanding with the Hydroelectric Sustainability Alliance (HSA) in 2024 to incorporate HSS into national policies, this plan achieved a leap from project pilot to global coverage.

Storage type hydropower to cope with seasonal mismatch

The core innovation of the planning lies in incorporating two sets of tools into the top-level design: HydroSelect is used for early site selection screening of hydropower projects, avoiding ecologically sensitive areas and densely populated areas from the source; HSS provides a three-dimensional evaluation framework for the entire project development cycle, including environmental, social, and governance assessments.

The Minister of Energy of Tajikistan stated that the plan provides a foundation for ensuring that future hydropower development follows strong sustainable principles and international good practices. The Deputy Executive Director of the Hydroelectric Sustainability Alliance stated that very few countries around the world have organically integrated sustainability indicators and tools into long-term electricity planning. This approach can promote clean energy infrastructure and avoid negative impacts on biodiversity hotspots, protected areas, and residential areas. Keywords: hydropower station, new energy project

The pain point of the Pamir Plateau lies in the seasonal mismatch of electricity supply and demand: the peak of winter heating electricity consumption coincides with the low output of hydropower and photovoltaics. The preferred solution for planning is to select water storage hydropower, and to stabilize seasonal fluctuations through conventional water storage power stations and pumped storage facilities. The 20 megawatt Chatham Run of River Hydropower Station has been listed as a priority project in the near future, with plans to update it every five years.Editor/Cheng Liting