BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 5. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided substantial financing for the Zarafshan wind power plant in Uzbekistan, Trend reports via the Bank.
According to EBRD, the financial package in the amount of $74 million is aimed at the development, construction and operation of a 500 MW greenfield wind power plant in Uzbek Navoi region, which is the largest renewable project in Central Asia to date.
“The EBRD will take on US$42 million of the senior loan, while the B loan portion of US$10 million will come from the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, FMO. Further parallel loans will be provided by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Natixis and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) under the Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI) cover,” the bank said.
Also, the EBRD is going to provide a revolving loan of $22 million guaranteed by Masdar, the owner of the Zarafshan wind power plant, to finance VAT payment requirements during construction.
Another innovation included in the project protects birds from the risk of collision with wind turbines.
“This is done through the use of Identiflight, an aerial AI-based HRSC-camera system for shut-down on demand, which is able to monitor and detect the species at risk of collision and trigger automatic curtailment of selected turbines,” the Bank noted.
As of today, the EBRD has invested nearly 3.5 billion euros in 111 projects in Uzbekistan.