EBRD loan to help Tajikistan add renewables to grid

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has worked out a EUR-31-million (USD 33.5m) financial facility for grid modernisation initiatives in Tajikistan that are expected to enable the integration of up to 700 MW of intermittent renewable power.

The funds will go to national transmission network operator Shabaqahoi Intiqoli Barq (SIB) to enhance the reliability and sustainability of electricity supply in the country. The financial package comprises two EBRD sovereign loans totalling up to EUR 23 million and an investment grant of up to EUR 8 million, the bank said on Wednesday.

The financing will support the rehabilitation of an existing transformer and the construction of a new one at the Sugd-500 substation in northern Tajikistan where the power system depends on the 500-kV Sugd-Dushanbe high-voltage line connected to it. The project will also be supported by an investment grant of up to EUR 2 million from the Sustainable Infrastructure Fund.

The initiative follows EBRD’s recently completed Sugd energy loss-reduction project which cut network losses in the region’s main city of Khujand to 10% from 27% using modern metering and billing systems.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.083)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!