Dubai: Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company Masdar has won approval to extend capacity at its wind farm project in Uzbekistan to 1.5 GW (gigawatts). It was earlier st at 500 MW (megawatt).
This will make it the largest wind farm in Central Asia and attract foreign direct investments of more than $600 million into Uzbekistan. Extending the capacity of the project, in the Zarafshan district of the Navoi region, to 1.5 GW will help Uzbekistan achieve its objectives of adding up to 3 GW of wind energy and meeting 25 per cent of its electricity needs from renewable sources by 2030.
The 500 MW wind farm is expected to begin operations by end 2024. The project would provide enough electricity to power 500,000 homes, while displacing 1.1 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.
In a statement, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said, “For the UAE, it is important that our actions on climate can help amplify the efforts of others around the world. This partnership is a clear example of how we are putting that tenet into practice.
"Together, we have an unprecedented opportunity to leverage our collective climate action to enhance sustainable growth in Uzbekistan, while making real progress on global climate goals.”
Masdar signed a PPA and Government Support Agreement with the Central Asian country in November 2019 to design, finance, build and operate the solar plant. Masdar was announced as the winning bidder for the solar project after tendering the lowest tariff of 2.679 US cents per kilowatt hour.
