The Opec Fund for International Development (OPEC Fund) has entered into two separate loan agreements worth $20 million each with Saudi utility project developer Acwa Power for the development of two wind power plants in Uzbekistan.  

 

These funds, it stated, will be used to support the construction and operation of the 500 MW Dzhankeldy wind farm and 500 MW Bash wind power plant, located in the country's Bukhara region. 

 

These new facilities will contribute to the country's renewable energy generation capacity, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions and diversifying its energy mix, it stated.

 

The loan agreement for the Dzhankeldy wind farm will support the development of the plant's infrastructure, including its construction, operation, and maintenance, as well as the development of 128 km transmission infrastructure. 

 

According to Opec Fund, the plant is expected to generate 1,550 GWh of electricity annually. The Bash wind power plant, on the other hand, will generate more than 1,650 GWh of electricity annually and will include the construction and installation of 160 km transmission infrastructure. 

 

Together, the two plants are expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 1.8 billion tonnes, it added.

 

Opec Fund Director-General Dr Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said: "Increasing private sector participation is key to support Uzbekistan’s ambitious energy transition. We are happy to cooperate with the authorities as well as with our development and private sector partners on energy sector projects that will boost the share of renewables in energy generation and provide reliable and affordable clean energy."

 

The financing for both projects, he noted, was provided through a consortium of international lenders, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) serving as the technical bank, and Standard Chartered Bank acting as the documentation bank. 

 

The consortium also includes the French development financier Proparco, Germany's development bank Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), he added.-TradeArabia News Service