The signing took place on the sidelines of COP29 in Baku and was witnessed by Sungat Yessimkhanov, Vice Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan and Sharif Al Olama, Under-Secretary for Energy & Petroleum Affairs, Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates.
The agreement was signed by Abdulla Zayed, Director, Business and Project Development of Masdar and Gulzhan Nalibayeva, General Director of the Financial Settlement Centre for Renewable Energy Sources Support LLP.
It comes just days after Masdar signed the Investment Agreement for the project with the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan , which is set to be one of the largest wind farms in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region.
Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, said, “This agreement demonstrates Masdar’s long-term commitment to supporting Kazakhstan in achieving its ambitious clean energy goals. We are heavily invested in Central Asia with partnerships in a number of countries. This project is a major addition to our portfolio and plays an important role in ensuring we meet our target of 100GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. We look forward to working with Kazakhstan to develop its renewable energy capacity and advance its energy transition.”
Gulzhan Nalibayeva, General Director of the Financial Settlement Centre for Renewable Energy Sources Support LLP, said, “This agreement is an integral part of the Investment Agreement signed between the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan and Masdar. It supports further advancements in our renewable infrastructure, contributing to a greener and more resilient economy.”
The wind farm is Masdar’s inaugural project in Kazakhstan, Central Asia’s largest economy. It is located in the south of the country and features a 600-megawatt-hour (MWh) Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
Masdar is the lead developer for the 1GW project, along with W Solar, Qazaq Green Power (a Samruk-Kazyna Group company), and the Kazakhstan Investment Development Fund.
Construction of the wind farm is expected to commence by Q1 2026. When completed, it will provide power to approximately 300,000 homes in the south of Kazakhstan, avoiding 2 million tonnes of CO2e emissions per year.
Today’s announcement builds on a commitment the governments of the UAE and Kazakhstan made at COP28 to cooperate on developing Kazakhstan’s renewables sector. The wind farm will support Kazakhstan’s ambitions to increase renewables capacity to 15 percent of its energy supply by 2030 (and to 50 percent by 2050) and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
