Acwa Power breaks ground on its green hydrogen plant in Tashkent: KSA renewables giant Acwa Power began construction on its green hydrogen production facility in Tashkent, Uzbekistan yesterday, according to the Uzbekistan National News Agency (UZA). The Saudi firm had signed an agreement with the Uzbek Energy Ministry and state-owned chemical company Uzkimyosanoat for development of the plant back in January.

More details: Acwa’s green hydrogen plant — expected to be commissioned in December 2024 — will be connected to an existing ammonia production plant inTashkent and will generate 3k tons of green hydrogen annually during its initial production phase. A 52 MW wind farm will be established to power the green hydrogen project, according to UZA, and a portion of the green hydrogen produced will be processed to generate mineral fertilizers.

Plans to use hydrogen for green ammonia production in Uzbekistan: Acwa Power said back in January it would conduct a feasibility study into establishing a green ammonia production facility with a 500k ton annual generation capacity in the Central Asian country. The proposed project would result in some 600 mn cubic meters of gas savings annually, offsetting about 1.5 mn tons of carbon emissions a year. Results of the study are due to be published in 2024.

Acwa has big plans for Uzbekistan: The renewables giant signed three power purchase agreements totaling USD 2.5 bn in March with the National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan and the country’s Investment, Industry, and Trade Ministry for 1.4 GW worth of solar projects and three battery energy storage (BESS) units totalling a capacity of 1.5 GWh. Acwa Power has a 10-project green energy portfolio in Uzbekistan with a combined USD 7.5 bn investment value.

Saudi is pouring USD bns into Uzbekistan: Saudi Arabia’s Investment Minister Khalif Al-Falih and Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev — who both attended the construction launch ceremony of the green hydrogen plant in Tashkent — also oversaw signing of a USD 12 bn development agreement between both countries in the fields of energy, agriculture, infrastructure development, chemistry, IT, and pharmaceuticals, according to a separate UZA report. Both sides emphasized a particular interest in establishing utility-scale power projects in the Central Asian country, although it is not clear the nature of the energy generation.

And there’s more coming: A separate USD 11 bn agreement was inked between both countries for collaboration in, among other industries, the transport infrastructure and utilities, household waste processing, irrigation, and geology sectors, UZA writes.

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