Overview
In June 2020, Masdar signed an agreement with the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan and JSC National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan to design, finance, build and operate a 500-megawatt (MW) utility-scale wind farm project. The Zarafshan Wind Farm is in the Navoi region. With a capacity of 500 MW, the project will provide enough electricity to power 500,000 homes, when it is fully operational. In November 2023, the substation was energized and the first wind turbine generators went online to generate around 25MW of renewable energy. Once completed, the wind farm will displace over 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Masdar will develop, build, and operate the wind project, which is set to be the largest of its kind in Central Asia and the first to be constructed in Uzbekistan.
Commercial operation is expected to be achieved in 2024, and the project will contribute to Uzbekistan’s target of generating 25 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. This is Masdar’s second utility-scale project in Uzbekistan following the signing of a Power Purchase Agreement and Government Support Agreement with the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan to design, finance, build and operate the country’s first public-private partnership solar power plant. Masdar developed the 100 MW utility-scale Nur Navoi photovoltaic (PV) solar plant, which has been operational since 2021.
Masdar has achieved financial close on three solar projects in Uzbekistan, with a combined capacity of around 900 MW. These projects will form the largest solar development program in Central Asia. the 457 MW Sherabad Solar Project, and the Samarkand and Jizzakh solar projects, which have a capacity of 220 MW each. Combined, the projects will produce enough electricity to power more than 1 million homes, while displacing more than 1 million tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.
Uzbekistan is targeting the development of 7 GW of solar and 5 GW of wind capacity by 2030.
Project Info
Technologies Used
Wind
Location
Navoi region
Project Completion Year
2025
Status
Commercial operation expected in 2024
