ASTANA, Kazakhstan, February 23. Kazakhstan plans to introduce major renewable energy projects in the coming years, said the Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Almassadam Satkaliyev, Trend reports.
"I note that projects for the implementation of large-scale renewable energy sources are currently at various stages of development. Introducing of 5 large renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 5 GW is planned for 2029-2030," he said.
As he noted, electric energy generation in Kazakhstan is carried out by 222 power plants, of which 146 are renewable energy facilities with a total capacity of 2.8 GW.
The minister noted that renewable energy has shown steady growth and since 2014 its installed capacity has increased more than 16 times (from 178 MW in 2014 to 2,868 MW in 2023).
"At the end of 2023, the volume of electricity generated by renewable energy facilities amounted to 6.675 billion kWh or 5.92 percent of the total volume of electrical energy production, while taking into account large hydroelectric power plants it amounted to 13.7 percent," the minister said.
Satkaliyev pointed out that in order to achieve a 15 percent share of renewable energy sources by 2030 and a 50 percent share (including alternative energy) of renewable energy sources by 2050, the ministry will ensure the holding of annual auctions, as well as the implementation of large-scale projects with strategic investors.
Meanwhile, by the end of 2022, there were 130 renewable energy facilities operating in the Republic with an installed capacity of 2,400 MW (46 WPPs – 958 MW; 44 SPPs – 1148 MW; 37 HPPs – 280 MW; 3 BioPPs – 1.77 MW).
At the end of 2022, the volume of renewable energy production amounted to 5.11 billion kWh (wind farm - 2.4 billion kWh; solar power plant - 1.76 billion kWh; hydroelectric power station - 934 million kWh;) or 4.53 percent of the total volume of electrical energy production. In 2023, this figure will reach 5 percent.
In 2022, 12 renewable energy facilities were commissioned with a total capacity of 385 MW with a total investment of 180 billion tenge (about $374 million).