The Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies, has awarded a contract to Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology to supply wind turbines for the Uzbekistan project.
Goldwind said that it will provide 111 units of its GW155-4.5MW turbine for the 500-MW Zarafshan wind project in Uzbekistan. The contract value is not disclosed.
The delivery of the project will commence in the third quarter of 2022, and it is expected to be finished by the end of 2024. The company first entered the market through the 750kW wind power project in Uzbekistan in 2012 under China’s Belt and Road initiative.
Located in the Navoi region in central Uzbekistan, the Zarafshan project achieved financial close at the end of August. The project is expected to attract foreign direct investment of more than $600 million and is part of Uzbekistan’s effort to meet 25 percent of its electricity needs from renewable sources by the end of the decade.
Mr. Sun Lianhua, general manager of Goldwind’s Central Asia-Russian region, said that “This is a milestone project for Goldwind to promote China’s foreignization of wind power. Uzbekistan is a pivotal country and geographic center in Central Asia with abundant wind resources. In recent years, the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Uzbekistan has continued to move forward, bringing various opportunities for two countries to achieve green and low-carbon development.”
Earlier this month, Masdar achieved the financial close on the Zarafshan wind project. The anchor lenders were the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
