ASTANA, Kazakhstan, February 23. Kazakhstan has every opportunity to take a leading position in the world in the development of wind energy production in the near future, said the Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Almassadam Satkaliyev, Trend reports.
"Kazakhstan, with its ninth-largest area in the world, has significant potential for the development of the renewable energy sector. Vast areas of the country have high potential for the development of wind, solar and hydropower, the introduction of modern technologies and sustainable development. In the near future, Kazakhstan has every opportunity to take a leading position in the world in the development of wind energy production," Satkaliyev said.
As the minister noted, Kazakhstan's climate is favorable for the construction of wind power plants due to the presence of wind corridors with wind speeds of more than 5 m/s, which is necessary for the operation of wind turbines.
"According to expert estimates, the energy potential of wind energy in Kazakhstan is at least 920 billion kWh per year. At the same time, the Caspian region, the southern region, as well as the Shelek corridor and the Dzungarian Gate, located in the southeast of the country, have the highest wind energy potential," he said.
The minister also noted the potential of solar energy. "So, in the southern regions of the country this is about 2,200-3,000 hours of sunshine per year, which allows us to be competitive with the sunniest countries in the world. The most preferred areas for solar energy production are the Aral Sea region and the southern regions of Kazakhstan," Satkaliyev said.
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).