UAE Govt’s Masdar Announces Financial Close on Uzbekistan’s 500 MW Wind Project

UAE-based global renewable energy developer Masdar has announced in Tashkent that it has achieved financial close on the 500 MW Zarafshan wind project in Uzbekistan, which is the country’s first utility-scale wind farm.

Masdar entered into bilateral agreements with the Government of Uzbekistan in 2020 to develop, build and operate the Zarafshan wind farm, the largest renewables project in Central Asia. The project is expected to attract foreign direct investment of more than $600 million, and is part of Uzbekistan’s effort to meet 25 percent of its electricity needs from renewable sources by the end of the decade.

The official statement reads that Zarafshan wind farm is Masdar’s second utility-scale project in Uzbekistan. The 100 MW Nur Navoi Solar Project started operations last year. Masdar also signed agreements last year to develop additional photovoltaic (PV) power projects in Uzbekistan with a combined capacity of 890 MW. The solar projects will be located in the Samarkand, Jizzakh and Sherabad regions of Uzbekistan.

The 500 MW Zarafshan wind farm, which is expected to begin commercial operation by the end of 2024, will provide enough electricity to power 500,000 homes, while displacing 1.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Masdar signed the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and Investment Agreement for the Zarafshan wind farm with the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade and also JSC National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan in June 2020.

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CFO of Masdar, said, “This achievement would also not have been possible without the support of our anchor lenders, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), to whom we owe many thanks.”

Alongside the anchor lenders for the Zarafshan project, the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, FMO, is acting as B lender, while Etihad Credit Insurance, Natixis and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), are providing credit-insured lending for the project.

Masdar claims to be one of the fastest-growing renewable energy companies in the world with the expectation of reaching well over 50 GW total capacity by 2030 – and over 100 GW in the following years.