More details on Saudi’s Acwa Power Uzbekistan renewables plans: Saudi renewables developer Acwa Power signed three power purchase agreements totaling USD 2.5 bn with the National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan and the country’s Investment, Industry, and Trade Ministry for 1.4 GW worth of solar projects and three battery energy storage (BESS) units totalling a capacity of 1.5 GWh, according to a company statement. The scope of the agreements is larger than previously reported, with the company disclosing on Tadawul that the contract agreement will last 25 years and the plants are expected to come online in 3Q 2025 and 3Q 2026 — although it is unclear which projects will launch in which year.

The Tashkent project: The 400 MW PV plant will have an accompanying 500 MWh BESS facility, according to the statement. The specific timeline and exact investment ticket of the project was not disclosed.

Two projects in Samarkand: The new solar plants will collectively produce 1 GW of electricity, and will have a battery storage capacity of 500 MWh from a single BESS facility, the statement notes. The specific timeline of each 500 MW PV plant, and the financials of the projects were not disclosed.

And another BESS facility in Bukhara: A separate BESS facility will have a storage capacity amounting to 500 MWh, and will include overhead transmission lines to distribute power onto the national grid, according to the statement.

Uzbekistan is ramping up renewables: Uzbekistan has a target to source 35% of its electricity demand from renewables by 2035, planning to establish wind energy plants totaling 10 GW, and solar energy farms that would generate 5 GW of clean power by the end of the decade to offset a total of 16 mn tons of CO2 per annum. The three new solar energy projects would offset some 1.6 mn tons of CO2 equivalent annually, the company statement notes.

And Acwa is on an Uzbekistani roll: The company has already poured in a total of USD 5 bn to fund the five projects it owns and operates in the country — including onshore wind energy plants, the statement notes. Acwa plans to invest a total of USD 10 bn in Uzbekistan’s renewables projects over the next five years, and signed an agreement in January to build a green hydrogen plant and a green ammonia pilot project in the country. The company also inked another PPA and investment agreements with the National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan worth USD 2.4 bn for a 1.5 GW wind energy farm in the country.