Uzbekistan's Energy Ministry and Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power have signed investment agreements worth $2.5 billion to build two solar plants with a total capacity of 1.4 gigawatts, according to Ministry's statement on Saturday. The agreements also including three power storage systems with a combined capacity of 1.2 gigawatts and deals under which Uzbekistan will buy power from the facilities, the statement added. Under the agreement, ACWA will also construct a 400-megawatt plant and a storage facility with the same capacity in Tashkent province, the Ministry added in the statement. The statement also stated that ACWA will build a 1-gigawatt plant and a 400-megawatt storage system in the Samarkand region, and 400 megawatts of storage in Bukhara province. Noteworthy, that Uzbekistan faces natural gas shortages for its traditional gas turbine plants due to natural production declines at maturing fields, however it has signed deals with lucrative contracts that include features such as prices fixed in hard currency.
