Uzbekistan’s Energy Ministry announced on May 21 the winning bidder of public-private partnership (PPP) tenders for two photovoltaic solar plants in the Jizzakh and Samarkand regions.
According to the Uzbek ministry, the PPPs will soon add over 400 MW of clean and renewable energy to Uzbekistan’s energy mix.
Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC (Masdar) was awarded the project in the Jizzakh region with a bid to supply solar power at 1.823 US cents per kilowatt hour. Masdar was also awarded the project in the Samarkand region with a bid to supply solar power at 1.791 US cents per kilowatt hour.
“Uzbekistan is making huge strides towards producing and providing ‘green energy’ for its population, decreasing the country’s dependence on fossil fuels and reducing overall CO2 emissions,” Uzbekistan’s Energy Minister Alisher Sultanov said, adding that these projects are key components of the Central Asian country’s ambitious, wider energy strategy to develop environmentally friendly renewable sources of energy to meet growing electricity demand.
“We are proud to be working with the IFC, the World Bank and other international partners as we join the international community of solar power generators,” he said.
The tender attracted seven compliant bids for the Jizzakh site, and six compliant proposals for the Samarkand site.
Uzbekistan has been working closely with the IFC to open up the country’s power sector to private investments, and attracting foreign capital in an efficient and transparent manner, the Uzbek Energy Ministry said.
The plants are part of a wider programme by Uzbekistan to develop 8 GW of solar and wind capacity by 2030. Once implemented, the project will develop Uzbekistan’s huge solar potential, help reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 160,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, and generate an additional 270 GWh of electricity.
