Abstract
This article compares renewable-energy transition strategies in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and examines how legacy energy systems, institutional capacity, investment models, and infrastructure readiness shape implementation. The study applies a structured qualitative comparison based on policy documents, official statistics, reports by international organizations, and peer-reviewed research. It identifies two distinct pathways. Uzbekistan follows an accelerated, investment-led model based on public-private partnerships, independent power producers, and large-scale solar and wind deployment. Kazakhstan follows an incremental, legacy-constrained model shaped by coal-fired generation, district heating, energy-intensive industry, and the social costs of structural adjustment. The comparison reveals different implementation gaps: Uzbekistan risks expanding generation faster than its grid, tariff system, off-taker, and domestic technical capacity can adapt, whereas Kazakhstan risks adopting advanced policy instruments without sufficient fossil-fuel displacement. The article argues that installed capacity and policy targets are insufficient indicators of transition progress. More meaningful evaluation requires attention to actual renewable generation, grid integration, fossil-fuel displacement, fiscal sustainability, and distributional effects.