From left to right: Artikov Sobirjon Sadullaevich, first deputy chairman of the board for the implementation of investment projects, capital construction, localization, expansion of cooperative relationships in industry and information technology of JSC National Electric Networks of Uzbekistan; and Martin Haupts, CEO of Phanes Group.
Image: Phanes Group
Dubai-based independent power producer Phanes Group has secured a 25-year power purchase agreement and an investment agreement from Uzbekistan‘s government for a 200 MW solar power plant that Phanes is planning to build in Nurata, in the Navoi region.
“The project is the result of direct negotiations and is not linked to a specific tender,” a Phanes spokesperson told pv magazine. The plant will sell power to the National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan at an unspecified fixed rate.
The company said the solar park will be linked to a 220/110 kV substation, without providing a timeframe for its construction and completion.
When operational, the plant will be the country’s first solar park developed outside of the two tender schemes the government is running with the support of the Asian Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), private sector arm of the World Bank.
Uzbekistan is planning to deploy 5 GW of PV by 2030.
According to the latest statistics released by the International Renewable Energy Agency, Uzbekistan had only 4 MW of installed solar power at the end of 2020. Last year, no new PV additions were registered in the country.
