The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has signed a mandate with the government of Uzbekistan to increase its renewable power capacity and encourage private sector investment in Uzbekistan’s renewable energy sector.

As the transaction advisor, IFC will advise the government of Uzbekistan and the state-owned national power utility, Uzbekenergo, on structuring a public private partnership (PPP) model to mobilize private sector experience and capital to construct and operate a 100 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project.

Despite having significant solar resources, Uzbekistan is highly dependent on natural gas for electricity generation. The government aims to develop the renewable energy sector to diversify the country’s energy mix and attract private investment in the sector.

The development of the 100 MW solar PV project will be the first phase of a larger initiative to generate up to 1 GW energy from solar PV projects.

“Developing renewable energy in Uzbekistan is crucial to diversify our power supply,” said Sukhrob Kholmuradov, Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister in a media statement. “The joint work of IFC, the State Investment Committee and Uzbekenergo could bring up to $1 billion in private investment to develop solar photovoltaic plants that will not only improve the supply, but also create a transparent mechanism to attract more private sector investment, which could be successfully replicated in other energy spheres,” added Kholmuradov.

Globally, over the past decade, IFC has invested $18.3 billion of its own funds in long-term financing for climate-smart projects and mobilized an additional $11 billion from other investors.

The IFC has also made several investments into the Indian renewable sector to foster its development and create a more sustainable future for the country. In January 2018, Mercom reported about IFC’s plans to invest $150 million in Aditya Birla Finance Limited (ABFL). The loan amount would be utilized by ABFL to fund solar projects in select states of the country. In the same month, IFC also announced that will provide $50 million as senior or IFC-A loan to Mahindra Renewables Private Ltd. (MRPL).