Masdar and Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan sign power purchase agreement to develop landmark solar project

Masdar, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies, has today signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and Government Support Agreement (GSA) with the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan to design, finance, build and operate the country’s first public-private partnership (PPP) solar power plant.

The signing ceremony was held today in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, and was attended by Sardor Umurzakov, Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shukhrat Vafaev, Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade, Sherzod Khodjaev, Deputy Minister of Energy; and Dadajon Isakulov, Chairman of JSC National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan, and other high-level officials from both Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates, including His Excellency Saeed Matar Al-Qemzi, UAE Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, and Yousif Al Ali, Acting Executive Director, Clean Energy, Masdar.

The Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan last month announced that Masdar had tendered the lowest tariff of 2.679 US cents per kilowatt hour in the programme’s competitive auction to develop the 100-megawatt (MW) utility-scale PV solar plant, which will be located in the Navoi region.

As transaction adviser, the International Finance Corporation helped the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade and the Ministry of Energy to design and tender the PPP, which attracted more than 40 bidders, under its Scaling Solar programme.

Sardor Umurzakov, Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, said: “The signing of the Government Support Agreement with Masdar is a historical event, which proves again that the reforms and transformations begun under the supervision of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev three years ago have a non-reversible nature. We will continue to implement such projects in a transparent and competitive manner to find the solutions, which are the most acceptable for the benefit of Uzbekistan.” 

The Power Purchase Agreement was signed by Dadajon Isakulov, Chairman of JSC National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan, andMohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, the Chief Executive Officer of Masdar. The Government Support Agreement was signed bySardor Umurzakov, Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi.

“Today’s signing is a historic milestone for Uzbekistan and its ambitions to diversify its energy mix,” said Masdar’s Al Ramahi. “As a global leader in the development of commercially viable renewable energy in more than 25 countries, Masdar is honoured to partner with Uzbekistan in the realisation of this landmark solar energy project.”

“At Masdar, we have an impressive track record in helping emerging markets to unlock the growth potential of renewable energy, not only in terms of attracting investment into the modernisation of their energy infrastructure but also their wider economy,” Al Ramahi added. 

“We are excited to bring the knowledge and experience from our global portfolio to support the clean energy transition of Uzbekistan.”

Today’s signing ceremony highlighted Uzbekistan’s goal of developing 5 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy by 2030. Under the IFC’s Scaling Solar programme, Uzbekistan aims to install 1GW of solar PV power.

Masdar will design, finance, build and operate the PV power plant in the Navoi region for 25 years. Construction will start in the second quarter of 2020, with commissioning scheduled for the second quarter of 2021.

Masdar is a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company and one of the world’s leading international renewable energy development and investment companies. The power generating capacity of the renewable energy projects in which Masdar is a partner is around 5GW, representing a combined investment of approximately US$13.5 billion.