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US$108million Nukus wind project signals ACWA Power’s expansion into the Uzbek energy industry
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Financial close for the project targeted for Q3 2022, with commercial operations expected by early 2024
Riyadh, KSA: 20 December 2021: ACWA Power, a leading Saudi developer, investor and operator of power generation, desalinated water and green hydrogen plants worldwide, today announced it has finalised the project agreements for the 100MW Nukus wind project in the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Valued at US$108 million, the Nukus wind farm is located in the Karakalpakstan region, in North-western Uzbekistan. This project is Uzbekistan’s first publicly tendered wind project. ACWA Power won the competitive bid after proposing a tariff of US 2.5695 cents/kwh.
ACWA Power Wind Karatau FE LLC signed the 25- year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with JSC National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan (NEGU), and ACWA Power Wind Karatau FE LLC and ACWA Power signed the Government Support Agreement (GSA) with the Government of Uzbekistan represented by the Ministry of Finance.
Representatives from the Public-Private Partnership Development Agency under the Ministry of Finance of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) were also presented during the signing ceremony.
We welcome this agreement as a further indication of ACWA Power’s commitment to Uzbekistan’s energy future. It is also a validation of the open and transparent bidding process we have put in place, with 12 well-qualified international bidders competing. We look forward to working with ACWA on this and its other exciting projects in our country
Alisher Sultanov, Uzbekistan Minister of Energy
The Nukus wind farm is ACWA Power’s fourth project in Uzbekistan, after the US$1.2 billion Sirdarya project, which is a 1500MW Combined Cycle Gas-Turbine (CCGT) power plant, the 500 MW Bash facility and the US$1.3 billion Djankedly wind power project in Bukhara.
The project seeks to bolster the Uzbekistan government’s efforts to diversify the country’s energy mix and increase its renewable energy capacity in line with recent strategic reforms. The country’s Ministry of Energy is targeting an 8GW capacity for solar and wind energy by 2026.
The Nukus wind farm’s financial close is expected to be finalised by the third quarter of 2022, with commercial operations scheduled for early 2024.
