The World Bank has approved financing support of $12 million, for the Scaling Solar 2 Project for Uzbekistan.
The new Scaling Solar 2 Project is a major addition to the solar energy fleet of the country which shall add 440 MW of capacity in Uzbekistan. In May 2021, Uzbekistan had announced public-private partnerships (PPP) for two separate solar power plants, each with a capacity of 220 MW in Kattakurgan district of Samarkand region and Gallaorol district of Jizzakh region. These PPP projects will benefit from World Bank payment guarantees totaling up to $12 million under the World Bank Group’s Scaling Solar Program. The solar power plants will generate 1.1 Terawatt-hour of renewable electricity per year, cutting down on CO2 emissions of nearly 110,000 metric tons per year on average. The plants will be established through limited liability companies owned by Masdar, a United Arab Emirates-based renewable energy company that will develop, finance, build, own, operate, and maintain both solar power plants. The electricity from these plants will be sold to state-owned National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan JSC (NEGU) according to the power purchase agreements (PPAs).