World Bank allocates $3.5 million for renewable energy project in Uzbekistan

The World Bank has approved $3.5 million in financing in the form of a bank guarantee for Uzbekistan. This guarantee will ensure the timely fulfillment of payment obligations for the purchase of electricity generated by the state-owned company "National Electric Networks of Uzbekistan" JSC. The bank's press service reported this development.

The construction and operation of the solar power plant in the Khorezm region will be carried out by the French company Voltalia. The plant is expected to be commissioned in November 2025. It will cover an area of 177 hectares and produce more than 240 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy per year. The facility is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 230,000 tons annually and provide clean energy to approximately 60,000 households.

“The World Bank Group will support Uzbekistan in meeting its energy needs and increasing its renewable energy capacity to 25 GW by 2030, in line with Uzbekistan’s 2030 strategy, which will account for 40 percent of the country’s electricity consumption by the end of the decade,” said Tatyana Proskuryakova, World Bank Regional Director for Central Asia.

The solar power plant project will be implemented by Sarimay Foreign Enterprise LLC, a subsidiary of Voltalia. The company is responsible for the development, financing, construction, and operation of the facility. Upon its completion, "Sarimay Foreign Enterprise" LLC will sell the electricity generated at the plant to the state-owned "National Electric Networks of Uzbekistan" JSC. This arrangement is part of a power purchase agreement between the two parties, valid for 25 years.

“A bank guarantee of up to $3.5 million, provided by the World Bank, will ensure the fulfillment of payment obligations of the National Electric Networks of Uzbekistan JSC for purchasing electricity from "Sarimay Foreign Enterprise" LLC. This guarantee also helped attract additional capital investments totaling $80 million, including more than $54 million in financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which are necessary for the project’s implementation in the Khorezm region,” the report states.

Earlier, the World Bank Board of Directors approved a financing package of $800 million in the form of concessional loans to support the reform program in Uzbekistan.