Promoting renewables in the energy sector of Tajikistan Haris Doukas * , Vangelis Marinakis, Charikleia Karakosta, John Psarras National Technical University of Athens, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Management & Decision Support Systems Laboratory (EPU-NTUA), 9, Iroon Polytechniou str., Athens 157 80, Greece article info Article history: Received 15 July 2011 Accepted 6 September 2011 Available online 23 September 2011 Keywords: Renewables Energy policy support Decentralized heat production Solar water heaters Tajikistan abstract Energy technology transfer can allow countries to move quickly to environmentally sound and sustainable practices. Integration of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) technologies in the energy sector of these countries can play a key role towards sustainability. The level of penetration of RES technologies remains seriously in arrears in Tajikistan, although the country has great RES potential. The aim of the paper is to look deeply into the most appropriate RES technology, which can be gradually introduced in the energy sector of Tajikistan and supported through demonstrations, business workshops, guides for installers with technical details and design proposals. The multi-dimensional methodology adopted included transparent decision support processes, using linguistic variables, taking into consideration the specific conditions prevailing in Tajikistan, as well as policy and technical proposal for the further development of the local market. Based on the results, the emphasis is laid on decentralized heat production, though the promotion of Solar Water Heaters, which seems to be an attractive energy option, with multiple benefits for the country. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Tajikistan is a mountainous country in the middle of Central Asia and borders by Uzbekistan to the northwest and west, Afghanistan to the south, China to the east and Kyrgyzstan to the northeast. The most important resources are mainly water [1]. Indeed, Tajikistan is ranked the ninth in the world for total availability of hydro resources and the second on the volume of hydro resources per capita [2]. The terrain and climate are highly favourable to the development of hydro power [3]. Besides hydropower, there are additional potential opportunities in the field of power generation and heating, such as solar energy, geothermal, biomass and wind power. Although Tajikistan has vast hydro energy capacity in comparison with other countries of Central Asia, the scarcity of natural resources and the increasingly dependence on imports strangles its develop- ment efforts towards Sustainable Development (SD). Furthermore, the unstable economy as well as specific barriers, such as low tariffs for electric power, absence of legislative support, lack of financing for new technologies and lack of awareness of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) has not attracted foreign investment necessary to develop RES projects in the country [4]. Nowadays, the European Union (EU) has strengthened its rela- tionship with Tajikistan and the other countries in Central Asia, namely Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan and Uzbe- kistan, especially, since the adoption of “The EU and Central Asia: Strategy for a New Partnership” in June 2007 [5]. The EU Strategy seeks to enhance cooperation with these states as regards, among others, economic diversification and energy sector reform. Espe- cially, a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Republic of Tajikistan was signed in October 2004 and entered into force on 1 January 2010 (Decision 2009/989/EC). In this context, the countries of Central Asia have been fully involved in the TACIS Regional and Inter-State programmes of the EU, such as the TRACECA multilateral agreement on transit and transport, the INOGATE Umbrella Agreement on gas and oil and the EC- supported Environment for Europe Process, incorporating energy networks and policies [6]. Furthermore, relevant studies focus on the promotion of sustainable energy technologies, addressing the related barriers, in EU and Asian countries [7]. An extensive literature is available covering a wide range of aspects related to RES perspectives and market potentials in developing countries and countries with economies in transition [8e11]. The promotion and integration of RES technologies in the energy sector of these countries can play a key role. Indeed, energy technology transfer can allow countries to move quickly to envi- ronmentally sound and sustainable practices, institutions and technologies [12,13]. In this context, many decision support * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ30 210 7722083; fax: þ30 210 7723550. E-mail address: h_doukas@epu.ntua.gr (H. Doukas). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Renewable Energy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene 0960-1481/$ e see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2011.09.007 Renewable Energy 39 (2012) 411e418