The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will finance the construction of the 240-megawatt (MW) Khizi-Absheron wind power plant in Azerbaijan through a syndicated loan of EUR 186.9 million to Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power.

The EBRD stated that the new station will be the first utility-scale wind power project in the country and the largest project in the Caucasus region. The project will be financed jointly with the OPEC International Development Fund. "After commissioning, the 240 MW renewable power plant will produce up to 893 gigawatt hours of clean electricity annually. It is expected that more than 400,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced annually," it added.

Nandita Parshad, the Managing Director of EBRD's Sustainable Infrastructure Group, said that last year, the bank signed a memorandum of understanding with its long-term partner ACWA Power to deliver renewable energy, green hydrogen, and green desalination projects in the regions. "Thanks to this memorandum, the EBRD has already achieved almost 1.5 GW of this promise to increase renewable energy from megawatts to gigawatts in the regions it covers," she noted.

ACWA Power CEO Marco Arcelli said that ACWA Power is eager to play a key role in helping Azerbaijan achieve its goal of meeting 30 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2030. "Our commitment to sustainability transcends borders and, as we have noted at another stage in this important project, we expect the support of all our stakeholders," Arcelli said.