UAE's Masdar to build wind power plant in Kazakhstan

Abu Dhabi’s clean energy company Masdar has advanced the development of a one-gigawatt wind power plant in Kazakhstan as the Central Asian country looks to boost the share of renewables in its energy mix.

The company signed an agreement with Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy, the Kazakhstan Investment Development Fund and the country’s sovereign wealth fund, Samruk-Kazyna, on the road map for the plant's construction, which will also include a battery storage system, Masdar said on Monday.

Masdar also signed a collaboration agreement with Samruk-Kazyna to explore further co-operation. Central Asia is a key market for Masdar, which aims to grow its total renewable energy capacity to at least 100 gigawatts by 2030.

Kazakhstan aims to become carbon neutral by 2060 and has set a renewable electricity generation target of 50 per cent by 2050. An initial agreement was signed between Masdar and Kazakhstan during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in January.

Last month, the company signed a joint development agreement with Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade to develop more than two gigawatts of solar and wind projects in the country.

Masdar, which nearly doubled its clean energy capacity to 20 gigawatts in two years, has been active in Uzbekistan since 2019, with the 100-megawatt Nur Navoi solar project – the nation’s first successfully financed independent solar project.

Earlier this year, the company opened an office in Azerbaijan's capital Baku and pledged to strengthen its support for the country’s renewable energy program. In January, Masdar signed agreements with Azerbaijan’s state oil company Socar to develop renewable energy projects with a total capacity of four gigawatts.

Established by Mubadala in 2006, Masdar has taken a leadership role in the global clean energy sector and has also helped to drive the nation’s economic diversification and climate action agenda. It is currently active in more than 40 countries and has invested or committed to invest in projects worth more than $30 billion.