ACWA Power inks $4.85b deal for Central Asia’s largest wind farm

On the sidelines of the Tashkent International Investment Forum held under the patronage of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Saudi-listed ACWA Power, the world’s largest private water desalination company, and a leader in energy transition and first mover into green hydrogen, signed a $4.85 billion Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan for Central Asia’s largest wind farm — the Aral 5GW Wind Independent Power Producer (IPP) project in the Karakalpakstan region.

The agreement was signed in the presence of the Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov and Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman Al Saud, Minister of Energy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, during a ceremony inaugurating two of ACWA Power’s ongoing projects in the country: the 1.5GW Sirdarya CCGT plant and the first 100MW phase of the Riverside solar plant in the Tashkent region.

The ceremony was attended by Shavkat Miramonovich Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Abdulaziz Bin Salman Al Saud, the Minister of Energy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As ACWA Power’s 15th project in Uzbekistan, Aral Wind IPP solidifies the company’s strong commitment to providing the renewable energy needed to meet the Central Asian country’s ambitious aims to have 40% of its energy mix provided by renewables by 2030. Uzbekistan is ACWA Power’s largest market after its home country of Saudi Arabia, and this latest project brings its total investment in the country to $13.9 billion.

Mohammad Abunayyan, Founder and Chairman of the Board of ACWA Power, said: “This historic project will provide clean power to approximately 4.5 million houses in Uzbekistan, a country which is propelling its energy transition thanks to its ambitious and decisive leadership. We are proud to collaborate with Uzbekistan’s government to export our low-carbon expertise beyond the borders of Saudi Arabia, improving the lives of millions in a country with whom we are honoured to share close ties.”

The Aral Wind IPP will be deployed in five phases. This flagship initiative will generate approximately 18,500 GWh of clean electricity annually, displacing 247 billion tonnes of CO2 over its lifetime and providing power to around four million homes, thus marking a pivotal step in Uzbekistan’s green energy transition. It is also projected to create hundreds of direct and indirect jobs and stimulate local industry by localising services and supplies.

ACWA Power’s total portfolio in Uzbekistan now comprises 11.6GW of power, of which 10.1GW is renewable, as well as the country’s first green hydrogen project with a capacity of 3,000 tonnes per year, the first phase of which was inaugurated in November 2023. Separately, ACWA Power has shown interest in investing $10 billion in Malaysia over the next 10 years to develop renewable energy projects. According to a report by the Malaysian National News Agency Bernama, ACWA Power will collaborate with Cypark Resources Bhd on the developments.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim confirmed this news on his Facebook page following a meeting with ACWA Power Chairman Mohammad Abunayyan on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh. Ibrahim said that the Saudi firm is prepared to collaborate with strategic partners in Malaysia to develop multiple renewable projects across various states in the nation. ACWA Power is a Saudi-listed company and the world’s largest private water desalination company, the first mover into green hydrogen, and a leader in energy transition.

Registered and established in 2004 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ACWA Power employs over 4,000 people and is currently present in 12 countries in the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia and Southeast Asia.

ACWA Power’s portfolio comprises 82 projects in operation, advanced development, or construction with an investment value of SAR 321 billion ($85.7 billion), and the capacity to generate 55.1 GW of power and manage 8 million m3/day of desalinated water per day, delivered on a bulk basis to address the needs of state utilities and industries on long term, off-taker contracts under utility services outsourcing and Public-Private-Partnership models. ACWA Power is a developer, investor, co-owner and operator of a portfolio of power generation and desalinated water production plants with a presence in 12 countries across the Middle East, Africa, Central and South-East Asia. Headquartered in Saudi Arabia, ACWA Power maintains regional offices in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dubai, Baku, Beijing, Cairo, Addis Abbaba, Jakarta, Amman, Rabat, Johannesburg, Istanbul, Tashkent, and Hanoi.[8] It invests in, develops, co-owns and operates a portfolio of 77 projects with the capacity to generate 53.7 GW of power and produce 7.6 million m3/day of desalinated water.