The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) are investing heavily in the solar photovoltaic (PV) sector of Kazakhstan.

The EBRD, Clean Technology Fund and Asian Development Bank (ADB) have announced that they are jointly financing a 50 MW solar PV project in the country’s Baikonur region. The recipient of the loan is Baikonur Solar LLP, a 100 percent subsidiary of United Green, a privately-owned strategic investment group.

The financial package will consist of two senior secured loans of up to $30,000,000 in Kazakh tenge (KZT) equivalent from the EBRD and up to $10,400,000 from the Clean Technology Fund. The ADB is providing a loan of up to $ 12,000,000 in KZT equivalent to co-finance the project.

The funds will be utilized for project construction work. The investment includes the development, construction, and operation of a ground-mounted fixed-installed solar PV project with a total capacity of up to 50 MW and an associated new substation in the Kyzylorda region of south Kazakhstan. The project will lead to the reduction of annual CO₂ emissions by 75,000 tons.

This is not the first time that EBRD is investing in solar in Kazakhstan. Recently, Chinese solar panel manufacturer Risen Energy Co. Ltd., signed a mandate letter with the EBRD for financing the construction of a 63 MW solar project in Kazakhstan during the 27th annual meeting of EBRD. The construction of the greenfield 63 MW solar PV project will start in September 2018 and is scheduled to be completed in June 2019.

Earlier this year, EBRD and Risen Energy signed another mandate letter for financing of Risen Energy’s 40 MW solar project in Kazakhstan. To date, the EBRD has invested over $ 8.7 billion in the economy of Kazakhstan.

Moreover, in November 2017, Mercom reported that the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and EBRD signed a joint financial partnership declaration to deepen their cooperation in support of renewable energy. The collaboration was aimed at giving EBRD a chance to support solar energy investments in some of the least developed countries in the world, particularly in Africa. More financial partnerships like this will be signed by ISA in the future in an effort to achieve its mandate in a proper and effective manner.