Uzbekistan’s 500MW wind project secures funding

It is expected to start operations by end-2024.

Abu Dhabi-based Masdar said that it reached financial close for Uzbekistan’s first utility-scale wind farm with a 500-megawatt (MW) capacity, expected to supply power to 500,000 homes.

In a statement, Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi expressed gratitude to the anchor lenders who supported the Zarafshan wind project namely the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, the Asian Development Bank, and Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Masdar said that the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank served as B lender for the project, and Etihad Credit Insurance and the First Abu Dhabi Bank provided credit-insured lending.

The Zarafshan wind farm is the largest renewables project in Central Asia, following the bilateral agreements between Masdar and the Uzbekistan Government in 2020.

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It is expected to attract over $600m of foreign direct investment and contribute to the country’s goal of sourcing 25% of its electricity needs from renewables by end-decade.

Expected to begin operations by the end of 2024 and avoid 1.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annular, the project is  Masdar’s second utility-scale project in the country after the 100MW Nur Navoi Solar Project which started operations last year.

The company also inked the power purchase agreement and investment agreement for the wind project with the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan and JSC National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan in June 2020. 

Last year, Masdar also signed deals to develop additional solar photovoltaic power projects in Uzbekistan with a capacity of 890MW which will be located in Samarkand, Jizzakh, and Sherabad.