Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) has strategically signed a roadmap for developing up to 1 gigawatt (GW) wind power plant in Kazakhstan, a move to support the country’s ambition to achieve 50 percent of its energy mix from renewables by 2050.
Masdar has been steadily making investments in the region over the past few years. The roadmap for the 1 GW wind project with a battery energy storage system (BEES) was signed by four partners on the sidelines of the Astana International Forum.
The agreement was signed by Masdar, the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kazakhstan Investment Development Fund (KIDF) Management Company Ltd., and Samruk-Kazyna, a joint stock company sovereign wealth fund. Mr. Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure (MoEI), witnessed the signing.
Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber UAE Minister – Industry & Advanced Technology Chairman – Masdar
“The UAE and Masdar are proud to be supporting Kazakhstan’s renewable energy goals. This wind project, which will generate up to 1 GW of clean electricity to power homes and cut emissions, shows sustainable development in action. To meet the Paris Agreement goals to keep 1.5 within reach, humanity needs to take many bold steps, including tripling worldwide renewable energy capacity by the end of this decade. As proud hosts of COP28, the UAE is deeply committed to investing in and partnering with countries to boost clean energy around the world.”
Moreover, Samruk-Kazyna and Masdar also agreed to collaborate on the project. An earlier agreement, signed by Masdar and its Kazakh partners at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in January 2023, was the foundation for the roadmap signing.
Mr. Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, said that “Masdar is very excited about its first project in Kazakhstan. We aim to deliver a world-class wind plant and battery energy storage system that will support Kazakhstan’s energy transition and advancement of its net zero ambitions. We welcome the signing of the project roadmap which further strengthens our relationship with Kazakhstan and demonstrates our commitment to helping the Kazakh government achieve its clean energy objectives.”
Mr. Marat Tulebaev, Chief Executive Officer of the Kazakhstan Investment Development Fund (KIDF) Management Company Ltd., stated that “KIDF is a government risk mitigation mechanism designed to provide comfort to foreign investors and global players like Masdar by co-investing in projects. We are pleased to note the progress of the project for the construction of up to 1GW wind farm with the first phase to be developed in the Jambyl region.”
“This is a significant step forward in developing the joint implementation of Masdar’s first wind project in our country. We look forward to strengthening our partnership in the future and believe that this project meets our country’s growing demand for electricity by helping to shift the energy supply model towards renewable energy sources,” added Mr. Tulebaev.
Mr. Nurlan Zhakupov, Chief Executive Officer of Samruk-Kazyna, commented that “I am glad that the Fund has now become a part of the project. Today, we consolidated this by signing a Collaboration Agreement between the Fund and Masdar, which will be the starting point for further cooperation. We also signed the Calendar Action Plan (Roadmap) between the Fund, the Ministry of Energy, KIDF and Masdar, indicating the main activities, responsible parties and deadlines.”
