(Riyadh, Saudi Arabia / Tashkent, Uzbekistan) – Saudi Arabian energy utility ACWA Power has signed agreements with the Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan and the state-owned chemical company Uzkimyosanoat to develop a green hydrogen plant and a green ammonia pilot project in the republic. These projects are “the first of their kind in the Central Asian country,” the company said.
3.000 tons per year
The first project will be connected to an existing ammonia plant in Chirciq, 45 kilometers from the capital Tashkent. According to plans, the yield is 3.000 tons of green hydrogen per year. Commissioning is scheduled for December 2024.
The second project involves the development of a feasibility study for 500.000 tonnes of green ammonia. It is expected to reduce Uzbekistan's dependence on natural gas by 600 million cubic meters per year and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1,5 million tons annually. The study will be completed by the end of next year.
Wind farms with an output of 1,5 gigawatts
It was only in mid-December that ACWA Power signed agreements with the government of Uzbekistan to develop the “Kungrad” wind farm with an output of 1,5 gigawatts. It is considered to be the largest in Central Asia to date. The location is the Karakalpakstan region.
The systems include three projects with an installed capacity of 500 megawatts each and battery storage with a capacity of 100 megawatts each. According to the information, the investment volume is around 2,4 billion dollars (2,22 billion euros). Full commissioning is expected to be completed by 2027. The owners are ACWA Power Kungrad Wind 1 LLC FE, ACWA Power Kungrad Wind 2 LLC FE and ACWA Power Kungrad Wind 3 LLC FE.
$10 billion for wind, hydrogen and ammonia
All of these projects were preceded by power purchase and investment agreements worth ten billion dollars between ACWA Power and the Uzbekistan Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade in August 2022.
The 1,5 gigawatt wind project in Kungrad is ACWA Power's fifth in Uzbekistan. The company's Uzbek portfolio also includes three wind farms and a gas and steam turbine project. In terms of total investments, Uzbekistan is the second most important after the “home market of Saudi Arabia”.
The Uzbek government wants to diversify the country's energy mix and install eight gigawatts of solar and wind energy capacity in the country by 2026. By 2030 there should be twelve gigawatts.
Photos
Uzbekistan and ACWA Power have signed investment projects in wind power, hydrogen and ammonia worth a cumulative amount of ten billion dollars. © ACWA Power
