President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has reviewed a presentation outlining the integration of green technologies into greenhouse operations in Tashkent and its surrounding areas, aimed at ensuring strict environmental safety. During the meeting, officials discussed the environmental situation around the capital, noting that an inventory conducted last year revealed certain agricultural entities were still relying on coal heating despite ecological hazards.
Meteorological conditions during the autumn and winter months, specifically low wind speeds and temperature inversions, can cause greenhouse emissions to accumulate heavily over the capital region. Consequently, authorities proposed introducing a specialized ecological regime for greenhouses across Tashkent and five adjacent districts, restricting heating methods to natural gas, electricity, geothermal and solar energy, as well as secondary heat recovered from thermal power plants.
Meanwhile, the burning of tires, plastics, bitumen, mazut, used oils, and general waste is strictly prohibited under the new rules. Greenhouses currently utilizing solid fuels are urged to transition to cleaner energy sources by December 1 of this year. Solid fuel usage will only be permitted for facilities meeting rigorous technical criteria, including automated boilers, efficient dust-and-gas filtration systems, safe ash-handling infrastructure, backup generators, and compliant chimney heights.
Continuous environmental monitoring will be enforced across greenhouses from October 15 of this year through March 15 of next year. Data gathered from measuring instruments and video surveillance systems will be transmitted in real-time to the information system of the Ecology Committee, with monitoring operations incorporating drones and civic oversight representatives.
Facilities found operating without proper filtration equipment, exceeding emission thresholds, or utilizing prohibited fuels will face punitive measures, including the potential suspension of operations. To assist greenhouse owners in adapting to these stringent requirements, financial support mechanisms have been proposed, featuring subsidies of up to 50 million sums per hectare and preferential loans of up to 3 billion sums for a seven-year term.
Source: kun.uz