UAE-based Masdar has signed the power purchase agreement (PPA) and investment agreement for a planned 500MW wind energy project in Uzbekistan.
The contracts were signed during a virtual ceremony by Sardor Umurzakov, Uzbekistan’s deputy prime minister and minister of investments and foreign trade, Dadajon Isakulov, chairman of the country’s national grid and Masdar’s CEO Mohamed Jameel al-Ramahi.
The wind project will be developed in the Zarafshon area of the Navoi region, with full commercial operations planned to begin in 2024.
The project marks the second utility-scale renewable energy project that Masdar will develop in Uzbeksitan, following its success last year in a competitive tender for a planned 100MW photovoltaic (PV) solar project in the Navoi region.
Masdar was announced as the winning bidder with a tariff of $cents 2.679 per kilowatt hour (kWh), and signed the PPA for the solar project in November. The solar project is Uzbekistan’s first independent power producer (IPP) project.
In March, Saudi developer Acwa Power signed strategic agreements worth more than $2bn with Uzbekistan’s energy ministry. The agreements will include the development of a 500-1,000MW wind IPP.
The projects are part of Uzbekistan’s plan to develop 5GW of renewable energy by 2030.
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