Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy has released the list of five bidders that would compete in the final phase of the 200 MW photovoltaic (PV) auction under the Sherabad Solar PV Project.

In response to the request for proposals (RfP) for the project sent to potential bidders in December 2020, the following were selected for the final phase:

• Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC (Masdar)
• International Company for Water and Power Projects (ACWA Power)
• Jinko Power (HK) Co., Ltd. (Consortium Leader/Lead Sponsor); China Power Holding International (Consortium Member/Lead Sponsor)
• Risen Energy Co., Ltd. (Consortium Leader/Lead Sponsor); JSC “Tojikgidroelectromontaj” (Consortium member)
• Total Eren S.A. (Consortium Leader/Lead Sponsor); Total Solar INTL (Consortium Member)

These five companies have cleared the technical bids, and the Tender Commission will invite the prequalified bidders to open the financial bids.

In February 2020, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy had invited Expressions of Interest from international investors to develop nearly 400 MW of solar independent power producer (IPP) projects in the regions of Samarkand and Jizzakh. Each solar project will have a capacity of approximately 200 MW.

In July 2020, Uzbekistan announced two tenders for solar projects with a cumulative capacity of 1.4 GW. Under the second tender, 400 MW of projects are slated to be developed. The projects would be developed in the Gallaorol district of the Jizzakh region and Kattakurgan district of the Samarkand region. These projects will be developed with the assistance of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the financial arm of the World Bank.

Last year, NTPC and Renew Power were named in a list of prequalified bidders for two solar projects, namely the Sherabad Solar Public-Private Partnership Project and Scaling Solar 2 Project.

The Uzbekistan Energy Ministry has announced measures for the development of renewable and hydrogen energy. The announcement follows an agreement signed between the Uzbekistan Energy Ministry, Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, and Air Products of the United States to develop hydrogen and renewable energy in Uzbekistan.

In 2018, Uzbekistan ratified the Paris Agreement to develop clean energy sources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP by 10% by 2030.

Rahul is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Before entering the world of renewables, Rahul was head of the Gujarat bureau for The Quint. He has also worked for DNA Ahmedabad and Ahmedabad Mirror. Hailing from a banking and finance background, Rahul has also worked for JP Morgan Chase and State Bank of India. More articles from Rahul Nair.