EBRD organizes $205 mln funding for Masdar to build three solar power plants in Uzbekistan

TASHKENT. April 6 (Interfax) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is organizing a financial package of $205 million for Masdar of the United Arab Emirates to build three greenfield solar power plants with total installed capacity of nearly 900 MW, the EBRD said in a statement.

It is expected that these projects will be co-financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The package consists of loans collectively worth up to $109 million; three revolving facilities of up to $78 million provided by the EBRD and guaranteed by Masdar; and loans of up to $18 million that are expected to be financed by the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO.

The funds will help construct and put into operation Nur Jizzakh, a 220 MW solar photovoltaic power plant in the Jizzakh region; Nur Samarkand, a 220 MW plant in the Samarkand region; and Nur Sherabad; a 457 MW plant in the Surkhandarya region. Once commissioned, the three projects are expected to generate up to 2,200 GWh of electricity, providing power to over 1 million homes in Uzbekistan, and reducing annual CO2 emissions by up to 1.2 million tonnes.

Masdar launched a first solar power plant with capacity of 100 MW and costing $110 million in Uzbekistan's Navoiy region at the end of August 2021. The company also won tenders to build solar plants with total capacity of about 900 MW and costing about $1 billion in three more regions of the country, Jizzakh, Samarkand and Surkhandarya.

Masdar won a tender in December 2022 for the construction of a 250 MW plant in the Bukhara region, the first project in Uzbekistan with a 62 MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).

Uzbekistan's government is implementing a strategy for the development of renewable energy sources with the aim of generating 12 GW of clean energy by 2030.

The EBRD has committed almost 4.12 billion euros for 129 projects in Uzbekistan to date.