ADB grants loan for 100-MW solar farm in Kazakhstan

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed off on a USD-30.5-million (EUR 27m) loan in local currency to support the construction of a 100-MW solar farm in Kazakhstan.

The loan was extended to M-KAT Green LLP, a special purpose vehicle 100% in the hands of French independent power producer Total Eren SA, the ADB said Wednesday. The project has already received co-financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The solar farm will stretch across a 500-hectare (1235.5 acres) site near the town of Shu in the southeast of Kazakhstan. Construction is already underway and the farm is slated to begin operations by the end of 2019. Once it goes online, the output will be sold under a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) between M-KAT Green and the Financial Settlement Centre for Support to Renewable Energy Sources, a limited liability partnership 100% owned by the Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company, the ADB said.

Kazakhstan relies on coal-fired generation for 80% of its electricity supply. In 2013, the Central Asian country announced a plan to increase the share of clean power to 50% by 2050.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.89)

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