Kazakhstan’s 50MW Baikonur Solar park could receive a funding of up to $28m from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
In this regard, the EBRD has inked a mandate letter agreeing to jointly finance the new solar plant to be built near the Baikonur space centre in the Kyzylorda region.
The newly proposed solar plant is expected to become the third large-scale solar plant in the country.
It will be built by Samruk Kazyna United Green Energy which is a joint venture between UK-based investment company UG Energy and Samruk-Kazyna Invest.
Samruk Kazyna is also in the process of building two other solar parks, each of 50MW capacities in Kazakhstan. Dubbed as the Burnoye Solar-1 and the Burnoye Solar-2 solar parks, the two projects located in Zhambyl are also financially backed by the EBRD.
EBRD director, Kazakhstan head Agris Preimanis said: “As the largest financier and a staunch supporter of reform in the area of renewable energy, both in Kazakhstan and our entire region, the EBRD stands ready to work with the government and investors on further improvements in the business climate for renewable energy, especially as Kazakhstan is preparing to move to a more market-friendly auction system.”
The EBRD has also forged a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Kazakhstani government to open the country’s renewable energy market to a broader array of investors working under the dedicated framework of the bank.
The bank has allocated €200m framework for funding renewable energy in Kazakhstan. According to the EBRD, the Baikonur Solar project along with all the renewable energy projects to be built in the future will come under the same framework.
Image: The Burnoye Solar-1 plant which was financed by EBRD. Photo: courtesy of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.