Uzbekistan Planning 100 MW AC Solar Project

• Uzbekistan plans to launch a 100 MW AC solar tender in June 2022 in Fergana region
• It will be developed under ADB supported Solar Program through which the country plans to develop 1 GW PV capacity
• As per the tentative project pipeline, the winner will be announced in April 2023 and sign a 25-year PPA with NEGU

The Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan has launched a project teaser for another utility scale solar project it plans to tender. The 100 MW AC capacity is planned to be located in Fergana region near the country's border with Kyrgyzstan.

The project will be designed, financed, owned, operated, maintained and decommissioned or transferred by an entity incorporated in Uzbekistan that will supply power from the project to National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan (NEGU) under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA).

Potential bidders will be expected to provide a detailed financing plan in their bid submission including submission of a signed term-sheet from potential financiers.

The project teaser calls Uzbekistan as one of the fastest growing economies in Central Asia with commitment to deploy up to 5 GW solar power projects by 2030 under its Power Masterplan, which is up for a revision to be increased to 7 GW (see Uzbekistan May Increase Renewable Energy Targets For 2030).

As per the tentative project timeline released, the ministry plans to launch the request for qualification (RFQ) round in June 2022 with a submission deadline of September 2022. Names of prequalified bidders will be announced in October 2022.

It will be followed by request for proposal (RFP) round, also in October 2022. Finally, a PPA will be signed with the winner in April 2023.

Details of the project are available on the ministry's website.

The ministry plans to use standardized project and bidding documents for the entire pipeline of 1 GW of solar power capacity it plans to tender under the Solar Program supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as a transaction advisor.

Under this Solar Program, the maiden project with 456.6 MW AC capacity is being developed in Sherabad district of Surkhandarya region which is being executed by Masdar (see Masdar Wins Uzbek's Sherabad Solar Power Auction).

In January 2022, the ministry launched a tender for 300 MW AC Guzar Solar Project in Kashkadarya region (see 300 MW Solar Tender Launched In Uzbekistan).