The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing funds to construct a solar plant in the Khorezm region of Uzbekistan.

A financial package of US$54.6 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 US$44.8 million and a special facility of US$9.8 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 provided by the European Union’s (EU) 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 European Union.

The financing will help Sarimay Solar to construct and operate a 100-megawatt (alternating current) or 126MW (direct current) greenfield solar photovoltaic plant that will contribute to Uzbekistan’s aim of developing up to 25GW of solar and wind capacity by 2030, further decreasing its reliance on carbon-intensive thermal-power generation, and facilitating the country’s transition to a low-carbon economy.

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 252GWh of electricity per year and reduce annual carbon dioxide 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.