Masdar reports reaching fin close on 900-MW Uzbek solar trio

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC, better known as Masdar, announced on Thursday that it achieved financial close on three solar projects with a combined capacity of 900 MW in the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The UAE company will initiate construction work “imminently”, it said, noting that this represents the largest solar development programme in Central Asia.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have each provided financing for the projects, while the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, FMO, and ILX serve as B loan participants.

The three developments in question are the 457-MW Sherabad Solar Project, and the Samarkand and Jizzakh schemes, each of 220 MW. Having signed agreements for them in 2021, Masdar expects to complete the solar plants in 2024.

Uzbekistan targets developing 7 GW of solar and 5 GW of wind by 2030 in an attempt to reach a 25% renewable power share. In this country, Masdar has already built the 100-MW Nur Navoi Solar power facility and is developing the 500-MW Zarafshan wind project along with the 250-MW Bukhara solar plant with 62 MW of battery energy storage.

Masdar and AIIB, in particular, have committed capital to the three latest projects under the Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) platform managed by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The Abu Dhabi-based developer joined this initiative last year with the intention of potentially spending up to USD 200 million (EUR 183m) on renewables. The goal of the platform is to deploy some 5 GW of new renewable power generation capacity in developing countries by 2030.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.916)

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