The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in partnership with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) will support Kazakhstan with a $16.7 million loan for the construction of a new 30-megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Zhangiz-tobe village in the east of the country, the bank announced on Friday.
The financing agreement was signed with the project developer China's Universal Energy during the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, according to the EBRD statement.
'The financing package arranged by the EBRD includes a local currency loan of up to $4.4 billion or $11.7 million and a loan of up to $5 million from the GCF,' the statement said.
The plant will generate over 38,900 megawatt-hours of electricity per year and will help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 31,650 tons per year.
The investment is the eighth project signed under the Bank's Kazakhstan Renewables Framework, a €200 million facility for financing renewable energy projects in Central Asia, which benefits from a $110 million contribution from the GCF.
The EBRD and GCF also recently co-financed a 40 MW solar plant project located in the Karaganda region of central Kazakhstan.
Despite its richness in fossil fuels, Kazakhstan aims to increase its share of renewable energy for total electricity generation to 3 percent by 2020, 6 percent by 2025, and 10 percent by 2030.
The country currently has 23 solar power plants, 20 wind power plants and more than 10 hydropower plants, which are expected to produce 2,000 MW of electricity by 2020.
By Gokce Kucuk
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr