First publicly tendered wind project in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy has announced the development of its US$108 million MW Nukus wind project with Saudi Arabian renewable energy investor and developer, ACWA Power.

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ACWA Power’s winning bid of US$2.5695 cents/kwh was the lowest of eleven competing bidders, therefore making the project the company’s fourth facility in the country.

Uzbekistan’s first publicly tendered wind project is located in the Karatau district, in the North-western part of the country. It is expected to reach financial close by Q3 2022 with commercial operations scheduled for early 2024.

Alisher Sultanov, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, commented, “The development of green energy and market reform go hand in hand in Uzbekistan. The Nukus project is a milestone both for our wind industry and the new public-private partnership model, introduced by the far-sighted reforms of President Mirziyoyev.”

Contributing 1.25% of Uzbekistan’s overall renewable energy goals, the project is expected to power 120,000 Uzbek households and offset 200,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. The wind turbine generators used will have a capacity of over 5 MW each, due to advanced design and technology.

The project is deemed a valuable part of Uzbekistan’s strategy to diversify the country’s energy and increase renewable energy capacity. The Ministry of Energy is targeting an 8GW capacity for solar and wind energy by 2026.