Saudi Arabia-based ACWA Power is planning to construct a 200MW wind farm in Uzbekistan, online publication KUN.UZ has reported.
The project, supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), will include a 100MW electricity storage system capable of storing power for one hour.
The wind power plant will be situated in the Karaozak and Beruniy districts within the Karakalpakstan region.
The total investment for the project is $262.65m.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan and the EBRD have signed a cooperation agreement for €10m ($10.67m) to establish a public-private partnership project development fund.
The EBRD will oversee the fund, which is designated for the payment of consultancy services.
The tender for the wind farm project was launched in April 2022 by Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade, and the National Electric Grids of Uzbekistan.
ACWA Power emerged as the winning bidder in November 2023, offering a price of $0.0409 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), compared with its main competitor Abu Dhabi Future Energy's (Masdar) offer of 0.0499/kWh.
ACWA Power recently secured an $80m equity bridging loan from the Bank of China.
The loan will support another of ACWA Power's projects in the country, the Tashkent 200MW solar project, and a 500 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system.
In 2024, the Egyptian Government entered into a $1.5bn wind energy agreement with a consortium led by ACWA Power.
The deal includes the development of a 1.1GW wind energy project in Egypt's Gulf of Suez and Jabal El Zayt areas.