EBRD invests $230 million in Uzbekistan for solar power and storage

Financing will be provided through a Loan A facility of up to $183.5 million and a Loan B facility of up to $40.5 million, with support from commercial co-financiers.

Nandita Parshad, Managing Director of the EBRD’s Sustainable Infrastructure Group, said: “We are proud to be working with ACWA Power and the co-financiers on the pioneering Tashkent Solar PV and energy storage project in Uzbekistan, the largest of its kind in Central Asia. This project is key to Uzbekistan’s ambition to install 25 GW of renewable energy by 2030.”

In Uzbekistan alone, the EBRD has invested over USD 5.1 billion (EUR 4.7 billion) in 162 projects to date. It has been the leading recipient of EBRD financing in the Central Asia region for the past four years.

Uzbekistan and the entire Central Asian region have received significant foreign investment in their energy sector, especially from the Middle East and China.

Marco Arcelli, CEO of ACWA Power, said: “In a world that is seeking greater private capital in emerging markets to support growth and decarbonisation, Uzbekistan is a case study under the vision and leadership of its government and lenders such as EBRD, DEG, Islamic Development Bank, Proparco, KfW IPEX-Bank and Standard Chartered.”

ACWA Power raised $80 million from Bank of China earlier this year to support the development of the Tashkent project, which is part of broader plans for the region. The company also signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement with China Energy Group Corporation for the site last year and a 240MW module supply agreement with Chinese solar panel maker JA Solar.

The UAE’s state-owned renewable energy company Masdar signed a $159 million deal with the World Bank in May for a 250 MW solar-plus-storage project in Uzbekistan, after connecting two PV projects to the country’s grid in March. Masdar also signed a deal with the Uzbek government in 2023 to develop 2 GW of solar and wind projects across the country.

China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC) has also expanded its operations into Uzbekistan, commissioning its first 400 MW photovoltaic plant in January out of a planned 1 GW facility, and building a separate 240 MW plant.