France-headquartered independent power producer (IPP) Voltalia has started building a 126MW solar PV project in Uzbekistan, to which it will add a 50MW/100MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) with plans to build another project ten times as big.
The Sarimay Solar project is expected online in the second half of 2025, supported by financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Voltalia has also signed two partnership agreements to deploy BESS in Uzbekistan. The first will extend the Sarimay project with a 50MW/100MWh BESS, the sales contract for which is expected to be signed in summer 2024. Voltalia signed an expansion deal for the Sarimay site in November 2023 during French President Macron’s visit to Uzbekistan, as reported last year.
The second deal will pursue the development of a 500MW/1,000MWh BESS complex. In partnership with the Uzbek Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade, Voltalia will construct and develop the site as part of what CEO Sébastien Clerc called “our commitment to strengthening our presence in Uzbekistan.”
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