Masdar signs contracts for 440MW of solar capacity in Uzbekistan

13 Jul 2021
Masdar signs contracts for 440MW of solar capacity in Uzbekistan

UAE-based Masdar has signed contracts to develop two photovoltaic (PV) solar projects in Uzbekistan with a total capacity of 440MW. Energy & Utilities reported in May that Masdar had been selected as the winning bidder to develop 220MW Jizzakh PV independent power producer (IPP) project and the 220MW Samarkand PV IPP project

UAE-based Masdar has signed contracts to develop two photovoltaic (PV) solar projects in Uzbekistan with a total capacity of 440MW.

Energy & Utilities reported in May that Masdar had been selected as the winning bidder to develop 220MW Jizzakh PV independent power producer (IPP) project and the 220MW Samarkand PV IPP project.

Mohamed Jameel Al-Ramahi, Masdar’s CEO, signed the project agreements with Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade, Sardor Umurzakov, at a signing ceremony in Tashkent on 13 July.

Energy & Utilities reported in April that eight groups had submitted bids for the second project to be developed under the IFC’s scaling solar programme in Uzbekistan, which will involve developing the PV solar parks at Samarkand and Jizzakh.

 Masdar was selected for the 220MW Jizzakh project with a total energy charge tariff of $cents1.823/kWh. The total tariff was comprised of a plant only energy charge of $c1.578/kWh and a PIF charge of $c0.245/kWh.

The second lowest total energy charge tariff of $c2.305/kWh had been submitted by a consortium of Jinko Power Technology (China)/ Jinko Power/ China Power.

The full list of bidders and prices can be found on the Uzbekistan Ministry of Energy’s website.

Masdar was chosen for the 220MW Samarkand PV IPP with a total energy charge tariff of $c1.791/kWh, which comprised of a plant only energy charge of $c1.570/kWh and a PIF charge of $c0.221/kWh.

The second lowest tariff for the Samarkand project of $c2.228/kWh was again submitted by the Jinko Power/China Power consortium.

The bids for the double-site project were received by Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy (MOE) on 16 April.

Masdar has also been awarded a contract to develop a 457MW PV IPP in the Sherabad district of Uzbekistan. Masdar submitted the lowest bid for the Sherbad project in May 2021.

Uzbekistan awarded the contract to develop the country’s first solar IPP project to a consortium led by Masdar in November 2019.

Masdar reached financial close for the 100MW Navoi solar project in December 2020.

The conclusion of loan and finance agreements were signed on 24 December during a virtual online signing ceremony with representatives from Masdar, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade (MIFT), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank Group and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The UAE energy firm submitted the lowest tariff of $cents2.679 per kilowatt hour. The project is being developed under the IFC’s Scaling Solar Programme. Uzbekistan has set a target of developing 5GW of renewable energy by 2030, with projects to developed under the IFC Scaling Solar programme expected to contribute 1GW of the total.

Masdar is also developing a 1.5GW wind project in Uzbekistan. Masdar signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) to develop the 500MW Zarafshan wind IPP project in June 2020. In April this year, Masdar signed an implementation agreement with the Uzbekistan government to increase the size of the Zarafshan wind project to 1.5GW.

Under its renewable energy program, Uzbekistan aims to deploy 5 GW of solar and 3 GW of wind power capacity by 2030, as it targets meeting 25 percent of electricity needs from renewable sources by that year. 

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