RIYADH: ACWA Power Co. said it will sign today a $2.4 billion deal with the government of Uzbekistan for a 1,500-megawatt wind project, a bourse filing revealed.

“This project would be the biggest single site onshore wind project in the region and the world and will contribute 19 percent to Uzbekistan’s overall renewable energy goals,” the PIF-owned energy giant said in a bourse filing.

To be located in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan, the facility seeks to power 1.65 million households and offset 2.4 million tons of carbon emissions per year.

Expected to achieve a financial close by the end of 2023, the project is likely to be fully commissioned by the first quarter of 2026.

The agreement duration is 25 years and will be signed with the Uzbekistani Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Investment & Foreign Trade.

This comes as part of ACWA Power’s mission to deliver electricity and desalinated water reliably at a low cost, thereby contributing to the sustainable, social and economic development of communities.

Established in 2004, ACWA Power’s portfolio includes 64 assets with an investment value of SR252 billion ($67 billion).

It produces 42.6 gigawatts of power and 6.4 million cubic meters per day of desalinated water delivered on a bulk basis to address the needs of state utilities and industries. 

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan signed over 10 investment agreements, worth over SR45 billion ($12 billion), during the fourth meeting of the Saudi-Uzbek Business Council held in Jeddah.

The agreements covered various sectors and included a number of deals between Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan and ACWA Power.

February, ACWA Power broke ground on Uzbekistan’s first publicly tendered 100-megawatt wind project, valued at $108 million.

The Nukus wind project is located in the north-western part of the country and is expected to reach a financial close by the third quarter of 2022.

It will contribute 1.25 percent to Uzbekistan’s overall renewable energy goals and will power 120,000 households and offset 200,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year upon operation in 2024.

Also, the Saudi firm announced earlier its start of operations at the Umm Al-Quwain desalination plant in the UAE.

The $797-million plant, known as Umm Al-Quwain IWP, has the capacity to generate 682,000 cubic meters per day of desalinated potable water.

This comes as ACWA Power seeks to deliver reliable and cost-effective delineated water projects.