ACWA Power has successfully begun installation at the 500 MW Bash wind farm project in the Bukhara region of Uzbekistan. The first wind turbine installed, manufactured by Envision, is thought to be the largest of its kind in Central Asia with a capacity of 6.5 MW.

Bash is expected to be complete by 1Q2025 and will include 79 wind turbine generators expected to generate more than 1,650 GWh/y of electricity.

ACWA Power has a 25-year power purchase agreement with the JSC National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan for the project.

Lithuania’s first offshore wind auction
Meanwhile, the Lithuanian government has presented the results of its first offshore wind auction, with a consortium of the Ignitis Group and OceanWinds to pay €20mn to develop the project. The consortium has received a permit to operate the site for 41 years, with operation to begin by 2030.

Lithuania is the first of the Baltic States to turn its offshore ambitions into reality, but the government has come under criticism for not applying the right auction design, with developers having to pay for the right to build the wind farm. According to WindEurope, applying uncapped negative bidding leads to extra costs that are then passed on to the supply chain and consumers.

It has been reported that the Lithuanian government will instead apply a Contracts for Difference (CfD) model for the country’s second 700 MW offshore wind tender, with developers being able to bid in between €64/MWh and €107/MWh. CfDs provide a more stable system for future offshore development, according to WindEurope.

Giles Dickson, Chief Executive Officer, WindEurope, commented: ‘It’s good to see Lithuania taking its first steps on offshore. It’ll help reduce their energy imports. And it’ll bring wider economic benefits including to local communities. But this tender could have been structured better. Negative bidding is not the way forward. It’s good that the next auction in September uses CfDs. This will generate more interest from other offshore wind developers.’

CfD scheme launched in Romania
Romania is to launch its first auction for a CfD support scheme for renewable energy. Onshore wind power projects and solar photovoltaic (PV) projects with a total capacity of 2,000 MW will be supported through a CfD scheme for 15 years. Successful bidders are expected to be announced in November.

The EBRD is working together with the Ministry of Energy and other Romanian authorities to create the necessary legal and regulatory framework for the CfD support scheme and to implement the competitive tender process for the first round of auctions.

The auctions represent the first round of a multi-year plan, which envisages the award of CfDs for a total of 10 GW of onshore wind power and solar PV generation capacity by 2030.

First offshore wind substation in the US

The first offshore wind substation in the US is now complete at the country’s first large-scale offshore wind farm, Vineyard 1, off the coast of Massachusetts.

Avangrid’s Vineyard Wind 1 offshore substation will collect power generated by the project’s 62 wind turbine generators and bring it to the onshore power grid through two export cables.

Vineyard Wind 1 is expected to deliver power before the end of this year and once completed, will generate 806 MW of clean energy to power more than 400,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts.