EBRD, Green Climate Fund to help finance 30 MW in Kazakhstan

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Green Climate Fund — a fund established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change — will provide $16.7 million to finance the construction of a large-scale solar project in the village of Zhangiztobe, Kazakhstan.

The Green Climate Fund and the EBRD signed the agreement with Shanghai-based Universal Energy on the sidelines of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing. The financing package includes a loan of up to KZT 4.4 billion ($11.7 million), as well as a loan as much as $5 million from the GCF, according to an online statement.

Upon completion, the solar plant will generate more than 38,900 MWh of electricity per year. It is expected to annually reduce CO2 emissions by 31,650 tons.

The loan package is the London-based EBRD’s eighth project under its €200 million Kazakhstan Renewables Framework. The Green Climate Fund has contributed $110 million to the program. The two sides recently provided funding for a 40 MW solar project in central Kazakhstan’s Karaganda region. The EBRD has already invested more than $8.85 billion in the country.

Kazakhstan’s total installed PV capacity stood at 209 MW by the end of 2018, according to statistics from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). In January of this year, German developer Goldbeck commissioned 100 MW of solar in the country, also with financing from the EBRD.