Sumitomo Signs Financing for Uzbekistan’s Largest Solar and Battery Project

Sumitomo Corporation and partners ACWA Power, Shikoku Electric (Yonden) and Chubu Electric (CHUBU) have signed project financing agreements for a landmark clean-energy project in Uzbekistan: 1,000 MW of solar power with 1,336 MWh of battery energy storage in the Samarkand and Bukhara regions.

Lenders include the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Islamic Development Bank. Private-sector loans will be covered by Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) under overseas untied insurance.

The project, developed through ACWA Power Sazagan Solar 1 & 2, will sell power to JSC National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan (NEGU) under a 25-year PPA. Project 1 targets commercial operation in 2027, Project 2 in 2028. Once online, the plants will generate electricity equal to the annual use of about 600,000 households, and form the country’s largest combined solar-and-storage installation to date.

Equity stakes: ACWA 51%, Sumitomo ~20.2%, Yonden ~14.4%, CHUBU ~14.4%.

Uzbekistan aims to lift renewables to 30% of capacity by 2030 as it reduces reliance on gas. Sumitomo said the deal supports its Energy Solutions strategy and builds on its global renewable portfolio, which reached about 2 GW as of March 2025.