Uzbekistan has inaugurated the Zarafshan Wind farm, a 500-megawatt (MW) project that is currently the largest operating wind farm in Central Asia. On December 11, 2024, President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, attended the inauguration ceremony. Officials including Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, COP28 President, and Chairman of Masdar, and Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, joined him.
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As part of its $2 billion investment, Masdar built the 500 MW Zarafshan wind farm in Uzbekistan. These projects will have a capacity of 2 GW, with an additional 4 GW of renewable projects under construction.
Uzbekistan has set a goal to achieve 20 GW of clean energy capacity by 2030 while Masdar delivers solar and wind farms, including the country’s first battery storage facility.
Also read: Masdar to Develop 1GW Wind Farm in Uzbekistan
Strengthening UAE-Uzbekistan Partnership in Clean Energy
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE Minster of Industry and Advanced technology and Chairman of Masdar said, “The UAE and Uzbekistan’s enduring relationship is critical to a shared commitment to drive low-carbon socioeconomic progress and clean energy capacity growth.”
He added, “Uzbekistan has become a leading investment destination and a clean energy hub for the region as we work to deliver our shared goal of tripling global renewable energy capacity by 2030, as outlined in the historic UAE Consensus.”
The Uzbekistan Ministry of Energy and Masdar also signed an agreement to develop a 1 GW wind farm in the Mingbulak region during COP29. This new project will create 1000 jobs during its construction and 60 jobs during its operations while also delivering clean energy to 300,000 homes. This marks the first step to building three wind farms.