The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is helping Uzbekistan to further decrease its reliance on carbon-intensive thermal-power generation and will facilitate the country’s transition to a low-carbon economy by providing funds to construct a solar plant in the Khorezm region of the country.

The EBRD’s financial package of up to US$ 54.6 million (€50.5 million) will be provided to Sarimay Solar, a special-purpose company fully owned by Voltalia, an international energy producer and service provider domiciled in France. It will consist of a senior loan of up to US$ 44.8 million (€41.5 million) and a special facility of €9 million, which will support Sarimay Solar during the construction phase of the project.

The project will benefit from an unfunded guarantee covering a senior loan tranche of US$ 7 million (€6.5 million) provided by the European Union’s European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus. The EU funds are dedicated to accelerate the uptake of under-deployed climate change mitigation technologies facing high barriers in any of the economies where the EBRD operates outside the EU.

The financing will help Sarimay Solar to construct and operate a 100 MWac (126MWdc) greenfield solar photovoltaic plant that will contribute to Uzbekistan’s aim of developing up to 25 GW of solar and wind capacity by 2030.

Awarded through a competitive tender, this is the first renewable energy project for Voltalia, an experienced European developer, in Uzbekistan. Once operational, the plant is expected to generate up to 252 GWh of electricity per year and reduce annual CO2 emissions by more than 141,000 tonnes.

Uzbekistan is the leading recipient of EBRD funding in Central Asia for the fourth year in a row. To date, the Bank has invested around €4.9 billion in 167 projects across the country, with most of those funds supporting private entrepreneurship.