Masdar signs renewables agreement with Kyrgyzstan: UAE renewables player Masdar has signed an agreement with Kyrgyzstan's energy ministry to develop clean energy projects with a total capacity of up to 1 GW in the Central Asian country, according to a statement. No information was given on the size of Masdar’s prospective investment in the projects. Masdar first agreed to explore renewable energy prospects in Kyrgyzstan back in April 2022.

What’s in the pipeline: Masdar will kick off the agreement with the construction of a 200 MW solar PV plant set to begin operations in 2026, yesterday’s statement noted. It’s unclear whether this is the same solar plant that we reported on in mid-December when we noted that the UAE and Kyrgyzstan had signed an agreement to begin the first phase of construction, amid a slew of agreements signed between the two countries in various sectors.

What else is planned? Masdar will explore and invest in a variety of potential renewables projects including ground-mounted solar PV, floating solar PV, and hydropower, the statement notes.

This is all part of Masdar’s ambitious expansion plans: Masdar was established by the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, which recently sold stakes in the clean energy firm to the UAE’s state-owned Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) as part of a push to grow the company both within and beyond MENA. Masdar is aiming for a renewable energy capacity of at least 100 GW by 2030 with a production quota of up to 1 mn tons of green hydrogen, and ultimately plans to expand its renewable energy portfolio to over 200 GW, it noted in December.

And its growth in Central Asia: Masdar signed a joint development agreement with Turkmenenergo State Power Corporation in November to build a 100 MW solar plant in Turkmenistan. Back in September, Masdar achieved financial close on Central Asia’s largest wind farm in Uzbekistan, boasting a capacity of 500 MW.