Financing closed for 500MWh Uzbek battery system

Saudi-listed ACWA Power has announced completion of the dry financial close for the $533 million Tashkent Riverside project in Uzbekistan, which includes a 500MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) and a 200MW solar PV plant.

According to the company in a release, the BESS will be the largest in Central Asia and will serve to stabilise the Uzbek grid.

Total debt from the signings stands at $386 million, making up more than two-thirds of the total cost of the project.

The BESS will help to mitigate the effects of intermittency that are inherent in renewable energy sources, storing excess electricity generated during times of high production and make it available during periods of low production.

This will ensure a constant and reliable supply of electricity to the grid, ultimately helping to meet the growing demand for energy in Uzbekistan.

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Financing documents for the project were signed with six lenders, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), DEG, Proparco, Standard Chartered and KfW-IPEX Bank.

Commenting in a release was Marco Arcelli, chief executive officer of ACWA Power: “In a world that is looking for greater participation of private capital in emerging markets to support growth and decarbonisation, Uzbekistan is a case study under the vision and leadership of its government and lenders…

“The agreement today for the Tashkent Riverside project reflects the strong trust placed in ACWA Power as the private sector partner, and one of the global leaders in renewables and energy storage. This trust is built on our unparalleled track record and we look forward to the successful execution of this new project to contribute to the country’s ambitious low carbon future.”

Once finished, the solar power project is expected to generate up to 418GWh of electricity per year and reduce annual CO2 emissions by more than 230,000 tonnes.

It will further decrease Uzbekistan’s reliance on carbon-intensive thermal-power generation and will facilitate the country’s transition to a low-carbon economy, in line with the Global Renewables and Energy Efficiency Pledge launched at COP28.

Said Nandita Parshad, managing director of the EBRD’s Sustainable Infrastructure Group: “We are proud to partner with ACWA Power and co-financiers on the pioneering Tashkent Solar PV and energy storage project in Uzbekistan, the largest of its kind in Central Asia.

“The project is core to Uzbekistan’s ambition to install 25GW of renewables by 2030. This project can power 170,000 households and the battery storage capacity is equivalent to 8,000 electric vehicles.”

Uzbekistan is ACWA Power’s second-largest market in terms of investments. Their current portfolio in Uzbekistan now comprises 11.6GW of power, of which 10.1GW is renewable, as well as the Republic’s first green hydrogen project, with a capacity of 3,000 tonnes per year.

ACWA Power also recently signed a landmark $4.85 billion power purchase agreement (PPA) with the National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan for Central Asia’s largest wind farm — the Aral 5GW Wind Independent Power Producer (IPP) project in the Karakalpakstan region.