Masdar is expanding its footprint in the Republic of Uzbekistan and has signed an agreement to develop two photovoltaic power generation projects in the country with a total capacity of 440 MW. On July 13, His Excellency Sardor Umurzakov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi signed an investment agreement for these two projects at an event in Tashkent. The power purchase agreement was signed by HE Sobirjon Artikov, First Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the State Grid Corporation of Uzbekistan, and Al Ramahi of Masdar.

“The Uzbekistan government opens the power sector to private investment by implementing public-private partnership projects that can attract foreign capital in an efficient and transparent manner,” said Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Sador Umurzakov. According to the agreement, Masdar will develop, build and operate these power plants on a public-private partnership, each with a capacity of 220 MW. These projects will be located in the Samarkand and Gizak regions of Uzbekistan and are expected to begin commercial operations in the first quarter of 2023. The International Finance Corporation served as the chief transaction advisor, assisting the Uzbekistan government in constructing projects and organizing the selection of successful bidders through an open tender process.

“The Ministry of Energy has been working closely with the International Finance Corporation to help Uzbekistan achieve the goal of 25% of energy consumption from renewable energy by 2030,” said His Excellency Alisher Sultanov, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan. These projects are a key component of our ambitious strategy to develop environmentally friendly renewable energy to meet our growing electricity demand." "These new projects further demonstrate Masdar’s commitment to supporting the Republic of Uzbekistan in achieving its clean energy and climate change goals. "Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi said, "Uzbekistan is an important strategic investment destination for Masdar as the government continues to play a leading role in clean energy projects in the region and accelerate the country’s energy transition. Masdar I am proud to be able to support Uzbekistan’s decarbonization strategy through our strong portfolio of wind and solar projects in the country."

In May, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy announced that Masdar had been selected for these two projects based on a competitive tender. Masdar also won a bid for another solar project in Uzbekistan, which is located in a 457 MW photovoltaic solar power plant in the Sherabad district of Surkandaria province. The victory of the new project adds to Masdar’s existing projects in Uzbekistan, which last year announced the financial closure of the 100 MW Nur Navoi solar project-Uzbekistan’s first successfully financed independent power producer (IPP) solar project. Masdar also agreed to develop, construct and operate a 500 MW wind farm in Zarafshan, and signed an implementation agreement with the Uzbekistan government in April to expand the capacity of the project to 1.5 gigawatts (GW), making it The largest in Central Asia.

Keywords: solar energy, international engineering news

According to its renewable energy plan, Uzbekistan’s goal is to deploy 5 gigawatts of solar and 3 gigawatts of wind power capacity by 2030, because its goal is to meet 25% of its renewable energy demand by that year.Editor/Baohongying