[Ferro-Alloys.com]

The UAE's state-owned clean energy company Masdar announced late on Saturday an agreement with the Kazakh government to partner on the development of 1GW of wind power in the central Asian nation.

The agreement, signed at the Cop 28 UN climate conference in Dubai, came as part of a wider commitment by the UAE to help develop Kazakhstan's renewables sector.

The wind power project will be spearheaded by Masdar, but also involve several other partners, including Abu Dhabi-based W Solar, Kazakh renewable company Qazaq Green Power QGP, otherwise known as Samruk-Kazyna, and the Kazakhstan Investment Development Fund.

The project represents an important element of the country's plan to transition away from fossil fuels and towards cleaner forms of energy, which envisages renewables making up 15pc of the country's energy mix by 2030, rising to 50pc by 2050. Kazakhstan has already pledged to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2060.

It also marks Masdar's first foray into Kazakhstan, although the company has been increasingly active in the region which it considers a frontier market with "massive potential for clean energy generation," particularly on wind and solar.

Earlier this year Masdar signed an agreement with the Uzbek government to partner on the development of more than 2GW of solar and wind projects, as well as 500MWh of battery energy storage at a number of sites across Uzbekistan.

In January the firm agreed to develop renewable energy projects with Azerbaijan's state-owned Socar for a total combined capacity of 4GW.

• [Editor:kangmingfei]