Masdar breaks ground on 1GW wind farm in Kazakhstan

Project includes 400km of new transmission lines to strengthen the grid.

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC (Masdar) has broken ground on a 1-gigawatt (GW) wind farm in Kazakhstan's Zhambyl region, marking its first renewable energy project in the country.

The $1.4b project is one of the largest integrated wind and battery energy storage developments in Central Asia. It includes a 600-megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage system (BESS) to support grid stability.

Masdar is developing the project with W Solar, Qazaq Green Power, a Samruk-Kazyna Fund company, and the Kazakhstan Investment Development Fund.

Once completed, the wind farm is expected to generate enough electricity to power about 880,000 homes in southern Kazakhstan and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by around 2.5 million tonnes annually.

The project also includes the construction of more than 400 kilometers of overhead transmission lines.

In a separate development, Masdar signed a roadmap agreement with Kazakhstan's Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development to support the country's first Round-the-Clock (RTC) clean energy project.

The initiative aims to deliver utility-scale clean energy on a 24/7 basis and support Kazakhstan's growing artificial intelligence ecosystem.

The proposed first phase will provide up to 200 MW of baseload clean power for data centers and AI infrastructure.

The agreement covers site identification, technical assessments, and stakeholder coordination for the project's development.