In a milestone for renewable energy in Central Asia, the Bukhara 1 GW Wind Power Project, the largest of its kind in the region, achieved full capacity grid connection on March 6, local time, injecting strong momentum into Uzbekistan's green energy transformation and upgrade.

The project, contracted and constructed by a consortium comprising CEEC subsidiaries, namely, China Energy International Engineering Co., Ltd, Zhejiang Thermal Power Construction Co., Ltd., CPECC International Engineering Co., Ltd, and CPECC North China Power Engineering Co., Ltd., marks a major step forward in Uzbekistan's green energy transition.

The project, CEEC's first large-scale new energy venture in Central Asia, consists of the Bash Wind Farm and the Dzhankeldy Wind Farm, each with a capacity of 500 MW.

With a total installed capacity of 1 GW, the project features 158 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 6.5 MW. Once fully operational, it is expected to generate approximately 3.59 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, accounting for 7% of Uzbekistan's total annual electricity production.

This will significantly enhance the local power supply capacity, optimize the energy structure, and benefit millions of residents. Additionally, the project is projected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.6 million tons each year.

The project encountered a multitude of challenges, such as limited resources, transporting oversized components over long distances, navigating logistical and customs hurdles, dealing with a remote location, and facing extreme weather conditions.

To tackle these obstacles, the project team took a coordinated approach, sequencing construction phases strategically to accelerate progress. They also focused on developing the local workforce, offering comprehensive safety and skills training to ensure a reliable labor force and successfully meeting project obligations.

Xiu Chunsong, the project's chief engineer, highlighted the team's commitment to technological innovation, introducing a pioneering method to streamline the assembly and disassembly of a 900T crawler crane in desert conditions. This innovation boosted turbine installation efficiency from 40% to 68.09%, enabling the team to outpace the construction schedule by 50.5 days in just 111 days.

This accomplishment set a new record for the highest monthly installation rate of 6.5 MW land-based turbines in Central Asia, resulting in direct economic benefits exceeding 6 million yuan (around 826,389.4 US dollars).