Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Uzbekistan is the jewel of the renewable energy market in the CIS, Mohammed Al Shehhi, director of delivery, bids and supply chain at Masdar, said at the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Sustainable Week (ADSW).

Masdar, one of the world’s leading clean energy companies based in the UAE, is currently involved in five renewable energy capacity projects. ADSW is hosted by Masdar.

Uzbekistan is the jewel of the renewable energy market in the CIS, as the country is implementing major reforms in the energy sector. The leadership of Uzbekistan has made a decision to liberalize the electricity market and all conditions have been created for investors, said Mohammed Al Shehhi.

According to him, investors can easily implement projects to create clean energy capacities. Masdar successfully cooperates with the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Energy, as well as other stakeholders in Uzbekistan.

Mohammed Al Shehhi said the UAE-based company is ready to support the country’s efforts to develop clean energy generation capacity.

The Masdar representative recalled that a solar photovoltaic station was launched in Navoi region, which is the first Masdar project implemented in the CIS countries and in Uzbekistan.

The capacity of this station is 100 megawatts. As part of the project, investments worth US$110 million have been disbursed.

Now Masdar, according to Mohammed Al Shehhi, is working on three projects in Uzbekistan, including in Zarafshan (Samarkand region) and Sherabad (Surkhandarya region). The company also takes part in a project in Bukhara.

Mohammed Al Shehhi stressed that at the moment a solar station is being built in Zarafshan. “We expect that deliveries of the main equipment to the construction site will begin soon,” he added.

“In the near future, financial closure is expected for projects in Sherabad (the capacity of the solar station will be 457 megawatts), Samarkand (500 megawatts) and Jizzakh (220 megawatts), and we will sign the relevant agreements,” said the Masdar representative.

He noted that the company has recently signed agreements with suppliers to supply solar panels for these projects. According to him, battery energy storage systems are being installed in all solar energy projects.

Mohammed Al Shehhi stressed that Masdar plans to expand its presence in Uzbekistan and is currently participating in seven tenders for the implementation of clean energy projects with the participation of IFC, IBRD and ADB.

Masdar is one of the world’s leading clean energy companies. The company takes part in projects in 40 countries of the world. The total capacity of these projects is 20 gigawatts.