The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a loan of up to US$39 million for a new wind farm in the Zhambyl region of Kazakhstan.

The funding aims to help the Central Asian country meet its objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

The loan, in US dollar and Kazakhstani tenge, will be extended to a joint venture between China Power International Holding (CPIH)  and Visor International, both long-term EBRD clients.  The money will be used to build, operate and connect the 100-megawatt Shokpar wind power plant to the transmission grid.

The bank’s first wind project implemented under Kazakhstan’s renewables auction scheme, and the latest project under the EBRD’s Kazakhstan Renewables Framework Programme Phase II, will be co-financed by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

It will be supported by concessional financing of up to US$10 million from the Green Climate Fund, and up to US$5.7 million from the Clean Technology Fund.

As part of the project, CPIH has committed to implementing an inclusive educational programme in Kazakhstan in partnership with a local college, which seeks to promote access to employment and green skills for women in the country.

Once operational, the facility is expected to help reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by 212,000 tonnes.