ACWA Power,announced in a statement that it has signed three major agreements with the government of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

• The first involves a Heads of Terms agreement for the development of a 1.5GW wind farm in Karakalpakstan;
• The second is an Investment Cooperation Agreement to jointly develop gas-to-power, renewable energy, green hydrogen projects in Uzbekistan;
• The third is related to charting a roadmap for the investment of green hydrogen in the Republic of Uzbekistan in collaboration with Air Products.

The initiation of new projects is a part of the Uzbek government’s long-term strategy to diversify the country’s energy mix, which targets 8 GW and 12 GW of solar and wind capacity by 2026 and 2030, respectively.

The 1.5GW Karakalpakstan wind project, located in north-western Uzbekistan, would be one of the biggest single-site onshore wind projects in Central Asia and the world. The Heads of Terms agreement signed between ACWA Power and Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Investment & Foreign Trade lays the foundation on which a power purchase agreement and investment agreement for the facility would be initiated. It was signed by Mohammad Abunayyan, chairman of ACWA Power, Shukhrat Vafaev, Deputy Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, and Azim Akhmedkhadjaev, First Deputy Minister of Energy.

Valued at c.US$2.4billion, the project is expected to achieve financial close by the end of 2023 and be fully commissioned by the first quarter of 2026. When complete, the facility is expected to power 1.65 million households and offset 2,4 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year.

The company also signed an Investment Cooperation Agreement (ICA) with the same ministries, whereby all parties will collaborate to develop projects in gas-to-power, wind, hydroelectric and green hydrogen projects valued at US$10billion over a five-year period, starting 2023. Signatories to the ICA were Mohammad Abunayyan, Shukhrat Vafaev, and Azim Akhmedkhadjaev.

Acknowledging the importance of green hydrogen generation to the vision of His Excellency President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, ACWA Power and Air Products along with the Uzbek Ministry of Energy are charting a roadmap to the investment efforts in this field. This agreement is the second phase of the previous MoU signed during the visit of the Saudi Arabian delegation to the Republic of Uzbekistan in January 2021. Mohammad Abunayyan, chairman of ACWA Power, Azim Akhmedkhadjaev, First Deputy Minister of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Dr. Peter Hortig from Air Products, attended the signing ceremony.

The development, construction, and operation of one of the largest wind farms in the Central Asian region and the world by a Saudi company along with the joint exploration of opportunities to further develop clean energy sources reflects the Kingdom’s leadership in the field of energy and its capability to develop the human and technical potential for Saudi companies, especially in the renewables sphere.

The 1.5GW Karakalpakstan wind project is ACWA Power’s fifth project in Uzbekistan. The company’s Uzbek portfolio also includes three wind farms, and a combined cycle gas turbine project. With the signing of the current key agreements, Uzbekistan will become the second largest country for ACWA Power in terms of overall investment.