ACWA Power breaks ground on 100MW Uzbek wind project

ACWA Power building

ACWA Power has broken ground on a 100-megawatt (MW) wind project in Uzbekistan, the company said, in a statement. 

The ground-breaking comes less than two months after the project’s binding agreements were signed between the Saudi utility, Uzbekistan's government and JSC National Electric Grid (NEGU), the off taker. 

The Nukus wind project, which costs $108 million, is located in the Karatau district, in the Karakalpakstan region, in the north-west part of Uzbekistan. 

The project is expected to reach financial close by the third quarter of 2022, according to ACWA Power's statement. 

It also marks the republic’s first open, competitive tender in the wind energy sector. ACWA Power won the bid after proposing a tariff of US 2.5695 cents/kilowatt hour (kWh), which was the lowest in a tender process that included 11 other bidders. 

The Nukus wind project is ACWA Power’s fourth facility in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The company’s in-country portfolio also includes a combined cycle gas turbine plant, and two wind projects. 

The company also expects commercial operations in the project to kick off in 2024, which will supply 120,000 housing units with energy and will also help lower carbon emissions by 200,000 tons annually.