Today, states worldwide prioritize the development of “green” technologies, and Kazakhstan is no exception. The Government of Kazakhstan plans to increase the share of renewable energy in total electricity generation to 6% in 2025, to 15% by 2030, and 50% by 2050.
In this article we look at what measures are already being taken to achieve these ambitious plans and which renewable energy power plants are already operating in the country.
One of the flagships of “green” energy in Kazakhstan is the wind power plant “Astana EXPO-2017” with a capacity of 100 MW, which was built by the “CAPEC Green Energy” company near the capital. In August 2019, the first launch complex for 50 MW was put into operation, and in November 2020, the second one with a similar capacity.
The generated environmentally friendly electricity will be enough for annual consumption to provide for more than 10 thousand households.
At the same time, such production of electric energy using renewable energy sources instead of traditional fuel makes it possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 230,000 tons per year, corresponding to the emissions of 113,000 cars.
The location of the wind farm – near the village of Kostomar, Arshaly district, Akmola region – was not chosen by chance. Before the project start, specialists made about 7 million wind measurements using a weather tower within three years.
According to the results of measurements, it was determined that the strength of local winds is sufficient to generate electricity.
But there was another important point that had to be taken into account – severe climatic conditions with wind gusts over 30 m/s, as well as a decrease in ambient temperature below -40 ° C, which makes the process of uninterrupted operation of the power plant equipment more difficult.
Original technical solutions for this task were developed together with the supplier of wind turbines – the Danish company Vestas, the world leader in the production of wind turbines.
“We have reached the design capacity and generate about 300 million kilowatt-hours per year. We transmit all the generated electrical energy to the networks of the KEGOC system operator,” says Aidar Zholshorinov, Deputy Director for Development and Commerce of CAPEC Green Energy.
So far, “green” energy is an expensive pleasure, and serious investments were required to implement the project. According to Daniyar Kozhekenov, Deputy Director for Economics and Finance of CAPEC Green Energy, international financial institutions showed interest in financing.
“But for our project, it was preferable to attract financing in tenge, which foreign lenders could not provide. We were able to find strategic partners in the face of the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, the Industrial Development Fund and investment funds that are part of the Baiterek national managing holding.
It worked out with a successful and mutually beneficial cooperation. DBK provided us with a credit line and FRP – equipment on lease, including wind turbines for the second start-up complex,” says Daniyar Kozhekenov, Deputy Director for Economics and Finance of the CGE.
According to him, the cost of producing a “green” kilowatt will decrease with the development of technology.