Masdar + Alpha Dhabi sign first agreement to explore green energy projects in Tajikistan: A JV between Masdar and Alpha Dhabi’s W Solar Investment — called MW Energy — has signed an MoU with Tajikistan’s Energy and Water Ministry to explore developing at least 500 MW of green energy projects, according to a Masdar statement. The first 500 MW represents phase 1, with further investments expected in the future, the statement said. The JV will explore (floating) solar power, wind, and hydropower projects under public private partnership models. The MoU was signed during the Dushanbe International Investment Forum. The project timeline and investment value were not disclosed.

Tajikistan has big hydropower potential: Despite the Central Asian country being landlocked, it still holds an abundance of freshwater resources, with 2% percent of its area covered by lakes and hundreds of rivers, according to the Aga Khan Development Network. Currently, over 95% of its electricity is supplied by hydropower.

And it’s planning to use it to build a green hydrogen sector: Tajikistan plans to capitalize on its estimated 527 TWh hydroelectric energy capacity as well as other renewable sources to produce up to 500k tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030, before doubling its planned generation volumes to 1 mn tonnes by 2040.

The country is going big on renewables too with major export goals in mind: Tajikistan aims to have 700 MW of solar and wind energy installed by 2030 — representing 10% of its energy mix — with 450 MW already under study, Tajikistan’s Energy and Water Minister Daler Jum’a said, according to the statement. The country hopes to export up to 75% of its low-carbon hydrogen to other Central Asian countries.

MENA banks are interested in investing in Tajikistan’s green transition: In August, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) signed a financing agreement with the government of Tajikistan to improve water management for the country’s agriculture sector. This came a few months after IsDB said it was earmarking USD 403 mn for three projects in Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan to support sustainable energy and transport. Last month, the Opec Fund for International Development — of which Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are members — approved more than USD 150 mn in new financing for sustainable development projects in eight different countries, including Tajikistan.

REMEMBER- Masdar is making big investments in Tajikistan’s neighboring countries too: Masdar has developed the region’s largest wind farm — the 500 MW capacity Zarafshan plant in Uzbekistan, of which 4.7 MW are already installed. Masdar also reached financial close on three Uzbek solar projects in Jizzakh, Samarkand, and Sherabad, which have a combined capacity of around 900 MW — the largest in Central Asia — and has actively contributed to Uzbekistan’s first 100 MW IPP solar project Nur Navoi, operational since 2021. The company was also awarded the 250 MW Bukhara Solar PV project, which includes a 62 MW battery energy storage system, late last year. Masdar signed an agreement with Kyrgyzstan to develop clean energy projects with a total capacity of up to 1 GW, and another with Turkmenistan to build a 100 MW solar plant.

About W Solar Investment: W Solar invests, develops, owns, operates, and transfers renewable energy power plants through its subsidiaries. In January 2022, UAE’s biggest conglomerate Alpha Dhabi Holding acquired 75% of W Solar. Since then, W Solar has only signed one preliminary agreement to develop 2 GW of solar energy in Libya, according to a statement on the ADX (pdf) published in June 2022. Alpha Dhabi Holding has been acquiring companies active in the green transition. Last year, it bought 20% of International Energy Holding Company, and recently announced it is planning to acquire a majority stake in local water management provider Metito Holdings pending regulatory approvals. Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ) owns the other 25% of W Solar.

About MW Energy: Masdar and W Solar formed MW Energy to carry out its clean energy projects outside the MENA region, with a focus on Africa and Central Asian countries including Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. The JV already has an initial pipeline of projects with a total capacity of 8 GW. The new company was also formed to support the UAE’s Etihad 7 initiative, which aims to supply 100 mn Africans with 20 GW of renewable electricity by 2035.