BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 29. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a financing package worth $142 million (121 million euros) for the development of Central Asia’s largest combined solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage project in Uzbekistan, Trend reports.
The funding will support two special-purpose vehicles (SPVs), ACWA Power Sazagan Solar 1 and ACWA Power Sazagan Solar 2, majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and co-owned by Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation, Shikoku Electric Power Company, and Chubu Electric Power Company. This marks the Japanese investors’ first renewable and battery energy storage system (BESS) venture in Uzbekistan.
Under the financing structure, EBRD will provide $61 million to ACWA Power Sazagan Solar 1 for a 500 MW solar plant and a 668 MWh BESS in the Samarkand region, and $81 million to ACWA Power Sazagan Solar 2 for another 500 MW solar plant in Samarkand and a 668 MWh BESS in the Bukhara region.
The project is expected to be co-financed by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Nippon Export and Investment Insurance-covered lenders, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB). Together, the two SPVs will deliver 1 GW of solar capacity and 1,336 MWh of battery storage, strengthening Uzbekistan’s energy security and grid stability.
Once operational, the facilities will generate around 2,300 GWh of electricity annually, enough to power 600,000 households, and will play a crucial role in achieving the government’s target of 25 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030.
The EBRD has been a key partner in Uzbekistan’s green transition, having financed 1.65 GW of wind, 1.4 GW of solar, and 334 MW/501 MWh of BESS projects across the country.
To date, the bank’s cumulative investment in Uzbekistan has exceeded 5.35 billion euros across 188 projects, with a strong focus on private sector development and sustainable growth.