OSCE Centre promotes establishment of Centre of Excellence on Renewable Energy in Turkmenistan

MARY, 27 March 2014 – An OSCE-organized seminar on renewable energy took place today in Mary, eastern Turkmenistan, to boost professional contacts and exchange best practices with the aim of establishing a national Centre of Excellence on Renewable Energy.

The proposed Centre would be based in the premises of the Mary State Energy Institute of Turkmenistan.

“Renewable energy is playing an important role in ensuring sustainable development and reinforcing energy security. The strong linkages between renewable energy, economy and environment cannot be overstated,” said Ambassador Ivo Petrov, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat. “The OSCE welcomes Turkmenistan’s initiative to establish the Centre of Excellence. This is an important step forward in the country’s effort to promote the development of alternative energy sources.”

Speakers at the seminar included national experts from Turkmenistan and international experts from Austria, the Russian Federation, Spain and Uzbekistan. The Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities and OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan also provided their expertise.

“Establishing the Centre of Excellence would be an important achievement to further enhance regional co-operation and holds great potential to create new partnerships for the development of renewable energy sources,” said Cyril Leroy, Senior Programme Officer at the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities. “Sustainable energy deployment contributes to diversifying our energy mix and improves energy security in the OSCE region.”

During the seminar, experts highlighted the role of renewable energy sources in energy production, technologies of production and storage of energy, as well as their limitations. Participants also discussed effective education and training specialists on alternative energy sources. There was special emphasis on best practices in establishing and running centres of excellence on renewable energy in other OSCE participating States.

The seminar was organized by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat in close co-operation with the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities and Mary State Energy Institute of Turkmenistan.