Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC), a UAE-based renewable energy project developer, secured $159 million in financing for the development of a 250 MW solar project combined with a 63 MW battery energy storage system (BESS) in the Alat district of the Bukhara region, Uzbekistan.
The financial package, signed between the World Bank Group, Masdar, and the Government of Uzbekistan, includes a loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of up to $53 million. The Asian Development Bank (ADB), Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO), and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide loans of up to $106 million.
The World Bank is providing a guarantee of up to $12 million to support the government’s payment obligations under the project. Canada-IFC Blended Climate Finance Program and ADB-managed Leading Asia’s Private Sector Infrastructure Fund (LEAP) are providing blended finance support in the form of concessional senior loans of $20 million each.
Nur Bukhara Solar PV, a project company owned by Masdar, will implement the solar project. Once operational, the project company will be selling electricity to the state-owned National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan JSC under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement signed by the two entities, including a 10-year operating term for the BESS component.
Uzbekistan government aims to scale up renewable energy generation by up to 25 GW or 40% of the country’s overall electricity consumption by 2030. The World Bank is helping the Central Asian country with the development of 2,000 MW of solar and 500 MW of wind energy projects by attracting private sector investments.
According to Mercom’s Q1 2024 Solar Funding and M&A report, large-scale project funding announced in Q1 2024 came to $13 billion in 62 deals, a decrease of 24% QoQ compared to $17.1 billion in 60 deals in Q4 2023.
Recently, Dynamic Sun Energy, a unit of Paramount Textile, secured a financial package to build and operate a 100 MW grid-connected solar power project in Pabna, Bangladesh. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) led the financing package for the solar project.
