IFC helps Uzbekistan develop renewable energy through public-private partnership

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has signed a mandate with the government of Uzbekistan to increase its renewable power capacity and encourage private sector investment in Uzbekistan’s renewable-energy sector.

As transaction advisor, IFC will advise the government and the state-owned national power utility, Uzbekenergo on structuring a PPP to mobilize private sector experience and capital to construct and operate a 100-megawatt solar plant. That will be the first phase of a larger initiative to generate up to 1-gigawatt of new solar energy.

“Developing renewable energy in Uzbekistan is crucial to diversify our power supply,” said Sukhrob Kholmuradov, Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister. “The joint work of IFC, the State Investment Committee and Uzbekenergo could bring up to US$1 billion in private investment to develop solar photovoltaic plants that will not only improve the supply, but also create a transparent mechanism to attract more private sector investment, which could be successfully replicated in other energy spheres.”

Despite having significant solar resources, Uzbekistan is highly dependent on natural gas for electricity generation. The government aims to develop the renewable energy sector to diversify the country’s energy mix and attract private investment in the sector.

“The agreement demonstrates the strong partnership between IFC and Uzbekistan,” said Georgina Baker, IFC Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, and Central Asia. “We are committed to creating markets and crowding-in private investment to help unlock and scale up renewable energy in Uzbekistan, and provide clean, reliable energy to its citizens.”

Globally, over the past decade, IFC has invested US$18.3 billion of its own funds in long-term financing for climate-smart projects and mobilized an additional US$11 billion from other investors. Through these investments, IFC has developed expertise in key climate markets including solar, hydropower, wind, energy storage, green buildings, and waste-to-energy.