ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 5. In the southern regions of Kazakhstan, gas generation projects with an installed capacity of about 2.3 GW are being implemented with completion in 2025–2026, said the Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Almassadam Satkaliyev during a meeting of the board, Trend reports.
"According to the plans, gas generation projects with an installed capacity of about 2.3 GW are being implemented in the southern regions with completion in 2025–2026 (combined cycle gas turbine in the Turkestan, Kyzylorda regions with a capacity of 926.5 MW and 240 MW, as well as CCGT at the sites of CHPP-3 and CHPP -2 in Almaty with a capacity of 544 MW and 557 MW)," the minister said.
According to the minister, additional gas and coal generation projects with a total capacity of 6.7 GW will be implemented as part of auctions for the selection of flexible generation.
"As part of the visit of the President of Kazakhstan to Qatar, an Agreement on Principles was signed for the implementation of a project for the construction of a combined cycle gas turbine plant with a capacity of about 1.1 GW in the Kyzylorda region," he said.
In addition to this, the minister noted that it is planned to conclude an agreement with Russia on projects for the construction of coal-fired thermal power plants in the cities Kokshetau (electric power – 240 MW, thermal power – 520 Gcal/hour), Semey (e/p – 360 MW, t/p – 1200 Gcal/hour) and Ust-Kamenogorsk (e/p – 360 MW, t/p – 1002 Gcal/hour).
In general, according to Satkaliyev, in order to ensure energy security and increase export potential, the ministry adopted an action plan for the development of the electric power industry until 2035, according to which it is envisaged to implement a number of projects to modernize existing ones, as well as to introduce new capacities with a total capacity of about 26 GW.
Meanwhile, in 2022, Kazakhstan produced 113.8 billion kWh of electricity, which is 1.1 percent less than in 2021. Exports amounted to 2.2 billion kWh (+16.1 percent). The main buyers were: Russia – 1.5 billion kWh (+16.6 percent), Kyrgyzstan – 690 million kWh (+15.1 percent).
In turn, Kazakhstan bought 1.7 times more electricity than a year earlier - 3.7 billion kWh. Most of it was imported from Russia - 1.9 billion kWh (+8.4 percent), and Kyrgyzstan supplied 1.7 billion kWh (+5.6 times).