Abu Dhabi’s Energy firm, Masdar has entered a deal with Kazakhstan to develop a wind power project of up to one gigawatt (GW). This project will support the country’s goal of achieving half its energy mix from renewables by 2050.
The deal was signed by four partners during the Astana International Forum held on 8-9 June in Kazakhstan. The collaboration will focus on developing a roadmap up to a 1 GW wind project with a battery energy storage system (BEES), which is also Masdar’s first project in the country. Masdar has been steadily investing in this Central Asian country in recent years
The agreement was signed by Masdar, the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kazakhstan Investment Development Fund (KIDF) Management Company Ltd., and Samruk-Kazyna, a joint stock company sovereign wealth fund.
Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Chairman of Masdar and COP28 President-Designate, said, “The UAE and Masdar are proud to support Kazakhstan’s renewable energy goals. This wind project, which will generate up to 1 GW of clean electricity to power homes and cut emissions, shows sustainable development. As proud hosts of COP28, the UAE is deeply committed to investing in and partnering with countries to boost clean energy worldwide.”
Masdar and Samruk-Kazyna also signed a collaboration agreement for the project. The roadmap agreement is built upon the earlier deal done in January 2023 between Masdar and its Kazakh partners at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, said, “Masdar is very excited about its first project in Kazakhstan. We aim to deliver a world-class wind plant and battery energy storage system to support Kazakhstan’s energy transition and advance its net zero ambitions. We welcome signing the project roadmap, which further strengthens our relationship with Kazakhstan and demonstrates our commitment to helping the Kazakh government achieve its clean energy objectives.”
Marat Tulebaev, Chief Executive Officer of the Kazakhstan Investment Development Fund (KIDF) Management Company Ltd., said, “KIDF is a government risk mitigation mechanism designed to provide comfort to foreign investors and global players like Masdar by co-investing in projects. We are pleased to note the project’s progress for constructing up to a 1GW wind farm, with the first phase to be developed in the Jambyl region.”
Nurlan Zhakupov, Chief Executive Officer of Samruk-Kazyna, said, “I am glad that the Fund has now become a part of the project. Today, we consolidated this by signing a Collaboration Agreement between the Fund and Masdar, which will be the starting point for further cooperation. We also signed the Calendar Action Plan (Roadmap) between the Fund, the Ministry of Energy, KIDF and Masdar, indicating the main activities, responsible parties and deadlines.”
In April 2023, Masdar reached a financial close on three solar power projects in Uzbekistan with a combined capacity of around 900 MW. The project can power over one million homes and displace over one million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. This is the region’s largest solar power programme.
Masdar is also developing the 230 MW Garadagh solar power plant in Azerbaijan. The firm will develop a total combined capacity of 4 GW of onshore wind and solar projects and integrated offshore wind and green hydrogen projects.
Notably, Kazakhstan aims to become carbon neutral by 2060, with the target of renewable electricity generation of 50 percent by 2050.
