EBRD said that it has signed the financing agreement with China’s Universal Energy, during the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.
Universal Energy, a company specialized in the investment, development, construction, operation and maintenance of green energy projects, is serving as developer of the project.
EBRD sustainable infrastructure group managing director Nandita Parshad and Universal Energy president and CEO Nan Yi have participated in the event of signing agreements, and the financing package that includes a local currency loan of up to $11.7m and a loan of up to $5m from the GCF.
The proceeds of the funding are expected to be used for financing the construction of a new 30MW solar power plant, which will be located in Zhangiz-tobe village in the east of the country.
The plant is expected to produce more than 38,900MWh of electricity per annum and would help reduce 31,650 tons of CO2 emissions every year.
The present financing from the EBRD marks the eighth project signed under the Bank’s Kazakhstan Renewables Framework, where the $223m facility for financing renewable energy projects in Central Asia benefits from a $110m contribution from the GCF.
The bank said a recently launched 40MW solar plant in the Karaganda region of central Kazakhstan, was also co-financed by the EBRD and GCF.
To date, EBRD has invested a total of more than $8.85bn in the economy of Kazakhstan through 254 projects.
In January, the bank announced financing for the construction of a new 50MW solar power plant in the southern Kazakhstan. The financing package includes a local currency loan of up to $40.4m in Kazakhstan Tenge and a loan of up to $10m from the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
The proposed new solar power plant is expected to be constructed in Chulakkurgan, south Kazakhstan, and would help reduce 86,000 tons CO2 emission per annum.