International financial institutions to co-fund Central Asia’s largest wind farm

High-profile international financial institutions are co-financing a project to design, finance and build what is set to be the largest wind farm in Central Asia. The Zarafshan Wind Farm in Uzbekistan will have a 500 MW capacity and is expected to provide enough electricity to power 500,000 homes. Once completed, the wind farm will displace 1.1 million tonnes of C02 annually. Financing for the project includes a $74m package organised by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). This will be provided as an A/B loan, with the EBRD offering a senior loan of $42m. The Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank has offered a $10m B-tranche for the loan. In addition, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a parallel $52m loan with Shamol Zarafshan Energy Foreign Enterprise, a wholly owned subsidiary of Masdar, a UAE-government owned renewable energy company. Additional parallel loans are being provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the International Finance Corporation. Highlighting the scale of the financing package, officer-in-charge of ADB’s Uzbekistan mission Enrico Pinali said: “This is the largest wind power plant that ADB has ever financed, and we are proud that it will support the government’s efforts to transition to a sustainable, green economy.”