Masdar agrees gigawatt-scale wind, battery projects in Uzbekistan

UAE-based renewables developer Masdar has sealed an implementation agreement with the government of Uzbekistan to develop a 2-GW wind farm project and install 1.15 GWh of battery energy storage capacity in the Central Asian country.

The batteries will be deployed at Masdar's Nur Navoi, Sherabad, Samarkand and Jizzakh solar projects, as well as at the 500-MW Zarafshan wind farm, the company said on Thursday. When operational, the wind farm is expected to power around 1 million homes.

The implementation agreement follows an initial pact that Masdar signed with the government in May for the development of 2 GW of renewables and 500 MWh of storage capacity which was increased to 1.15 GWh.

Including the new deal, Masdar's investment in Uzbekistan will reach about USD 4 billion (EUR 3.62bn).

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of a ceremony for the grid connection of four wind and solar energy projects, developed by Masdar, adding 1.4 GW to the Uzbek power grid. These include Central Asia's largest wind park -- the Zarafshan wind farm which produced first power in November and is expected to be fully operational in 2024. The other three projects are solar parks located in Jizzakh, Samarkand and Sherabad.

Uzbekistan, which is a key market for Masdar, aims to add 7 GW of solar and 5 GW of wind capacity by the end of this decade.

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