EBRD, GCF Commit $6.4 mn for Solar Plant in Kazakhstan

EBRD and GCF are loaning up to USD 6.4 million to finance a new 10 MW solar plant in the Zhanakorgan District in southern Kazakhstan.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), are stepping up their efforts to support renewables in Kazakhstan with a loan of up to USD 6.4 million to finance a new 10 MW solar plant in the Zhanakorgan District in southern Kazakhstan.

The plant will generate over 14.8 GWh of electricity per year and will help to reduce CO2 emissions by close to 13,000 tonnes per year. This is the first solar plant in Kazakhstan to be developed under an auction scheme, a system supported by the EBRD to promote competitive pricing and stimulate investments into renewables.

The financing package arranged by the EBRD comprises a loan of up to KZT 1.7 billion (USD 4.4 million) in local currency and in US dollars, as well as up to USD 2 million from the GCF. 

This is the 10th project signed under the Bank’s Kazakhstan Renewables Framework, a EUR 200 million facility for financing renewable energy projects in Kazakhstan. The framework was approved in 2016 and benefits from a USD 110 million contribution from the GCF. In September 2019, the Bank approved a EUR 300 million extension of the Kazakhstan Renewables Framework. 

The facility will promote solar, wind, hydro, biogas, distribution and transmission projects and is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 500,000 tonnes per year.

The EBRD Board of Directors approved the extension to the existing Framework, which has been almost fully utilised. The first phase supported the creation of 262 MW of renewable power-generation capacity across the country, attracted four private international investors and supported a grid-strengthening project.

The extension of the Kazakhstan Renewables Framework will help the country to reach its renewable energy targets of 3 percent of generation by 2020 and 50 percent by 2050 and to meet its commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement.

In April, we reported that the EBRD along with the GCF has provided USD 16.7 million as a loan to support the development of a new 30 MW solar PV power plant in Zhangiz-tobe in Kazakhstan.