Acwa Power pushes forward in Uzbekistan: Saudi Arabian renewables giant Acwa Power signed an agreement to establish a USD 100 mn green hydrogen plant in Uzbekistan with the country’s state-owned chemicals firm Uzkimyosanoat, marking the first project of its kind in the country and Central Asia, according to a statement released on Friday. Acwa also signed financing agreements worth USD 120 mn for the 100 MW Karatau wind farm — formerly known as Nukus Wind IPP, the statement notes.

More about the hydrogen plant: Acwa’s hydrogen development agreement with Uzkimyosanoat will see it set up a green hydrogen production plant in Tashkent over two phases, with the initial stage aiming to generate some 3k tons of green fuel annually for 15 years once operational in June 2024. The exact power capacity from renewables powering the project was not disclosed. Acwa has a target to up its hydrogen production capacity through the second phase of the project, which is expected to have a USD 4 bn price tag, to c. 120k tons of green fuels annually, the statement notes. The second stage — to be powered by 2.6 GW of clean energy — will offset some 20 mn tons of CO2 equivalent over its life cycle and save 830 mn cubic meters of natgas.

More about the wind farm: The 100 MW wind power plant will be jointly funded by the Uzbek government, German finance company Deutsche Investitions (DEG), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and French DFI Proparco. The project will be located in the country’s Karakalpakstan region and is expected to kick off commercial operations in February 2025, the statement noted. The country’s national power grid company signed a 25-year PPA with Acwa Power to serve as the exclusive buyer of the clean energy produced.

Acwa Power is capitalizing on Uzbekistan’s renewables push: Uzbekistan aims to source 35% of its electricity from renewables by 2035. It plans to establish wind energy plants totaling 10 GW and solar energy farms that would generate 5 GW of clean power by 2030 to offset a total of 16 mn tons of CO2 per annum. Acwa signed three power purchase agreements totaling USD 2.5 bn in March 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. Earlier in January, Acwa signed an agreement to build a green hydrogen plant and a green ammonia pilot project in the country.

And the investments will keep rolling in: Acwa plans to invest c. USD 10 bn in Uzbekistan’s renewables projects through to 2028 beyond the USD 5 bn it has already poured in to fund five clean energy it owns and operates in the country, which include the USD 658 mn 500 MW Dzhankeldy Wind Farm and the USD 690 mn 500 MW Bash Wind Plant.

IN OTHER REGIONAL ACWA NEWS- The company signed a non-binding agreement with Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) to establish a green fuel production plant on the sidelines of the EBRD’s annual meeting in Uzbekistan last week, according to a statement released on Thursday. The SCZone did not disclose the type of green fuels, the production capacity, financials, or timeline for establishing the facility, though it did say that the MoU should be turned into a framework agreement “soon.” Egypt’s International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat also met with Acwa company representatives during the EBRD meeting to discuss expanding cooperation on desalination and renewables projects, according to a cabinet statement out yesterday.