ACWA Power, a leading Saudi developer, investor and operator of power generation, desalinated water and green hydrogen plants worldwide, Monday announced it has finalized the project agreements for the 100MW Nukus wind project in the Republic of Uzbekistan.Valued at $108 million, the Nukus wind farm is located in the Karakalpakstan region, in North-western Uzbekistan. This project is Uzbekistan’s first publicly tendered wind project. ACWA Power won the competitive bid after proposing a tariff of 2.5695 cents/kwh. ACWA Power Wind Karatau FE LLC signed the 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with JSC National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan (NEGU), and ACWA Power Wind Karatau FE LLC and ACWA Power signed the Government Support Agreement (GSA) with the government of Uzbekistan represented by the Ministry of Finance. Representatives from the Public-Private Partnership Development Agency under the Ministry of Finance of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) were also present during the signing ceremony. Uzbekistan Minister of Energy Alisher Sultanov said: “We welcome this agreement as a further indication of ACWA Power"s commitment to Uzbekistan"s energy future. It is also a validation of the open and transparent bidding process we have put in place, with 12 well-qualified international bidders competing. We look forward to working with ACWA on this and its other exciting projects in our country.” The Nukus wind farm is ACWA Power’s fourth project in Uzbekistan, after the $1.2 billion Sirdarya project, which is a 1500MW Combined Cycle Gas-Turbine (CCGT) power plant, the 500 MW Bash facility and the $1.3 billion Djankedly wind power project in Bukhara. Commenting on the occasion, ACWA Power Chairman Mohammad Abunayyan said: “We are delighted to continue our expansion in Uzbekistan. The signing of the power purchase agreement for the Nukus wind farm is yet another landmark achievement for the country and for our company, as it reinforces our growing relationship with the Uzbek government and our commitment to accelerating the country’s energy transition.” ACWA Power President and CEO Paddy Padmanathan said: “Uzbekistan is undergoing tremendous change as it progresses quickly towards an industrialised, connected and economically prosperous future. “To achieve these goals, energy demand is set to increase rapidly and we at ACWA Power have the expertise, experience and technological know-how to deliver on these ambitions while ensuring the trajectory to achieving the net zero commitment, all as demonstrated by our work in our home market of Saudi Arabia, and beyond. We look forward to continue working with our government partners in Uzbekistan in realising their plans.” The project seeks to bolster the Uzbekistan government’s efforts to diversify the country’s energy mix and increase its renewable energy capacity in line with recent strategic reforms. The country’s Ministry of Energy is targeting an 8GW capacity for solar and wind energy by 2026. The Nukus wind farm’s financial close is expected to be finalized by the third quarter of 2022, with commercial operations scheduled for early 2024. — SG