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Masdar’s Uzbekistan project gets a boost: UAE’s renewables giant Masdar has secured a total of USD 159 mn in loans, and USD 12 mn in guarantees from a number of international organizations for the construction of its 250 MW solar plant with a 63 MW battery energy storage system (BESS) in Uzbekistan’s Bukhara region, according to a press release. Masdar will receive interest rate swaps from IFC to manage risks associated with loan rates, the statement added.
The breakdown:
- The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is lending some USD 53 mn, USD 20 mn of which will be provided within the joint IFC and Government of Canada program for financing climate protection initiatives;
- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed on a loan of USD 46.5 mn — USD 20 mn of which will come from the ADB-managed Leading Asia’s Private Sector Infrastructure Fund (LEAP), according to an ADB statement ; and has further mobilized USD 26.5 mn from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA);
- The rest (c. USD 33 mn) will be offered by the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank;
- The World Bank will also provide Uzbekistan with a financial guarantee of USD 12 mn.
About the project: The project — which will stand as Central Asia’s first renewable power facility with a utility-scale battery storage system — plans to offset around 327k metric tons of CO2, generate around 585 GWh of energy annually, and power 75k houses. Masdar was first awarded the 250 MW Bukhara Solar PV project in late 2022, a company statement said. At the time, Masdar submitted a bid with the lowest price per kWh of energy at USD 3.044 cents.
Masdar 💚Uzbekistan: Masdar completed the connection of four of its solar and wind power farms totalling 1.4 GW to Uzbekistan’s electricity grid last January. The UAE firm also actively contributed to Uzbekistan’s first 100 MW IPP solar project Nur Navoi, which has been in operation since 2021.
With more in the works: Masdar was awarded the 300 MW Guzar Solar PV project which boasts a 75 MWh storage capacity. The renewables firm signed an implementation agreement with Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy and its Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade, to develop an additional 2 GW of wind energy projects, as well as expand its storage capacity to 1.15 GWh in January. The storage projects will be spread across five existing Masdar projects and brings Masdar’s total Uzbekistan investments to approximately USD 4 bn. It also signed an agreement with Uzbekistan’s government to develop renewables projects worth some 2 GW and 500 MW of BESS facilities across multiple locations last year.
