Uzbekistan wind farm approaches completion with Dutch lender backing
The €232 million Nukus 2 development combines wind turbines with battery storage, with commissioning targeted for completion at the end of November 2026.
Saudi energy company ACWA is nearing completion of its Nukus 2 development in western Uzbekistan, where 25 turbines are producing power out of 26 planned. Dutch development bank FMO is among the lenders financing the €232 million project.
The developer's target for finishing battery commissioning is the end of November 2026. Construction had reached 94.2 per cent in a progress update dated 26 October.
Situated in Karakalpakstan, Nukus 2 has wind generation capacity of 200 megawatts and batteries able to hold 100 megawatt-hours. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) calls it Central Asia's first development to combine wind power and large-scale battery storage.
Project director Sardorbek Mahmudov said electricity production began in August. Battery commissioning requires staged tests and additional measures covering safety and fire protection, he said. He estimated that stored electricity could last three to four hours, with the duration depending on demand.
ADB and a fund under its administration agreed a loan package of approximately €46 million in September 2025. Alongside FMO, lenders include Standard Chartered, Saudi EXIM and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. A March 2024 agreement commits Uzbekistan's national grid operator to buying the wind farm's electricity for 25 years.
The project comes as Europe expands storage used to balance electricity networks. European additions of large-scale battery capacity reached approximately 4.6 gigawatts in 2025, more than double the previous year's level, although overall battery installations across all categories fell slightly.
