Saudi Arabia’s energy major ACWA Power said it will invest $2.4 billion to develop wind projects of 1.5 GW capacity in Uzbekistan. The company also signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the government for these projects.

The wind farm will comprise three 500 MW wind power projects owned by three subsidiaries of ACWA Power.

Further, each of these projects will incorporate a 100 MW capacity battery energy storage system.

Located in the Kungrad district, the wind farm is expected to offset 2.4 million tons of carbon emissions per year and will have a minimum environmental impact due to the utilization of the latest mitigation technologies.

This includes bird-detecting technology, which combines cutting-edge innovations in both image sensors and software to prevent bird fatality.

The wind farm is expected to bolster the Uzbekistan government’s long-term strategy to diversify the country’s energy mix. The country has set targets of  8 GW and 12 GW for solar and wind capacity by 2026 and 2030, respectively.

“Uzbekistan is committed to delivering on policy goals to increase the renewable energy share of the country’s energy mix and reduce carbon emissions… the Kungrad project is a milestone both for our wind industry and the new public-private partnership model,” said Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov, Minister of Energy of Uzbekistan.

Previously, an agreement signed between ACWA Power, and Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Investment & Foreign Trade in August 2022 laid the foundation for the power purchase and investment agreements.

In June, a consortium led by ACWA Power signed an agreement to develop a 1.1 GW onshore wind project in Egypt’s Gulf of Suez Gabal el Zeit area with an estimated investment of $1.5 billion.

Recently, the Saudi energy major partnered with nine Chinese entities to finance, invest, and construct the utility provider’s global clean and renewable energy projects in Saudi Arabia and the Belt and Road Initiative countries.