Aging Grid and Shady Deals Undermine Uzbekistan's Solar Ambitions

Uzbekistan's gaping power deficits and the government's desperate attempts to plug them are hardly a secret these days. Only last week, President Shavkat Mirziyoev welcomed Russian leader Vladimir Putin to Tashkent for a two-day trip that turned into three days of talks, with Moscow's energy assistance to its Central Asian ally topping the bill. Alongside confirmation that Moscow's nuclear energy giant Rosatom will build a small power plant in the country, the trip brought a pledge from Putin to nearly quadruple pipeline capacity next year, potentially…