Masdar, the Abu Dhabi based clean energy company, has signed a Battery Storage Service Agreement with Uzbekistan’s state-owned JSC Uzenergosotish to develop the Zarafshan Battery Energy Storage System.
The Zarafshan BESS, represents the first phase of Uzbekistan’s national battery storage program and follows Masdar’s December 2023 agreement with the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade to develop up to 575 MW / 1.15 GWh of BESS capacity across the country. According to the company, Phase 1 of Zarafshan project will provide a 300 MW/600 MWh of storage capacity connected to the Murunau Substation, capable of powering approximately 1.3 million households for two hours. A second 300 MW/600 MWh phase will extend the Zarafshan site. Once operational in third quarter of 2028, the facility is planned to contribute to Uzbekistan’s goal of producing 54% of its electricity from renewables by 2030.
The Zarafshan BESS becomes part of Masdar’s existing Uzbekistan portfolio, which includes 2 GW of clean energy capacity, with investments totaling over $2 billion USD. Masdar has committed to developing over 2 GW of additional clean energy capacity, as well as the extension plan of Zarafshan BESS with additional 300 MW / 600 MWh, supporting Uzbekistan’s goal to reach 20 GW of renewables by 2030 and Masdar’s global ambition of 100 GW by 2030.
The company continues to scale its storage portfolio, including a recently launched gigascale 5.2GW solar and 19GWh BESS project in Abu Dhabi designed to deliver 1GW of baseload renewable power.
Jurabek Mirzamahmudov, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Energy, noted recent joint projects with Masdar, including solar plants totaling 1,247 MW, a 500 MW wind plant, and a 63 MW storage system, and a 300 MW solar facility currently under construction. He stated that the 300 MW/600 MWh Zarafshan system will contribute to the country’s plan to integrate additional renewable capacity into the grid.