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Thursday, 1 September 2022

Central Asia’s largest wind farm, brought to you by Masdar

Uzbekistan’s Energy Ministry has reached financial close on a 500 MW wind farm, according to a ministry statement out yesterday. The project, which will be built by Emirati renewable energy company Masdar, is expected to cost some USD 600 mn to build. The wind farm — positioned as Central Asia’s largest — will replace 1.1 mn tons of CO2 annually and power 500k homes. commercial operations are expected to start by end-2024.

This is not Masdar’s only project in Uzbekistan: Masdar is also expanding the capacity of existing solar power plants by 890 MW in three regions across the country, the statement says. It also launched the 100 MW Nur Navoiy photovoltaic plant last year.

These projects line up with Uzbekistan’s green energy goals: The Uzbekistan government’s long-term strategy to diversify its energy mix targets 8 GW of solar and 12 GW of wind capacity by 2026 and 2030, respectively. The country is developing solar and wind power plants with a capacity of 5.5 GW, the ministry statement reads.

And MENA companies are racing to be part of it: Earlier this month, Saudi utility provider ACWA Power signed three agreements for green energy investments totalling USD 12.4 bn with Uzbekistan, the company said in a Tadawul filing. The projects include a USD 2.4 bn wind farm with a capacity of 1.5 GW, a USD 10 bn investment cooperation agreement to develop renewable energy and green hydrogen projects, and a roadmap for green hydrogen investment.

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