Kazakhstan’s renewable energy plans unaffected by global oil prices
Kazakhstan’s Minister of Energy, Kanat Bozumbayev, recently said that the active development of the country’s renewable energy will continue in the following decades regardless of oil prices.
At the recently held Future Energy Forum in Astana, the minister emphasized that green energy developments by the Kazakhstani government began when oil prices were at US$ 120 per barrel and it would continue its efforts, even if prices fell to US$20 per barrel.
“Kazakhstan will be gradually integrating renewable energy sources into the national energy mix until 2020. From 2020 through 2030, the country will be following a more active approach. To achieve this, we have created a regulatory framework, clear indicators that will help us monitor the development of the state planning system and technical instruments to gauge the potential,” said Bozumbayev.
Kazakhstan’s Deputy Energy Minister, Magzum Mirzagaliev, also said that there are already 48 operating renewable energy facilities in the country with a total capacity of 252.37 MW (megawatts) – hydroelectric power plants with 122.99 MW; wind power plants with 71.87 MW; solar power plants with 57.16 MW; biogas units with 0.35 MW – that generates 0.94% of Kazakhstan’s electric energy production.
The Republic’s authorities also intend to commission 23 solar power plants, about 20 wind power plants, over 10 hydroelectric power plants and a number of mini hydroelectric power plants by the year 2020.
According to the Ministry of Energy, Kazakhstan has determined its contribution to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases from 2021 through 2030: 15% as an absolute target and 25% as a hypothetical target by 2030 as against 1990.
Moreover, the volume of gas production will reach approximately 65 billion cubic meters a year by 2020. This year, production is estimated at about 43 billion cubic meters.
“Besides boosting the export of gas, an increase in production will enable us to utilize gas in the domestic market more actively and to develop gas-fired generation instead of coal-based technologies. This will help lower the environmental impact of the national energy system and reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere,” stressed Bozumbayev.
The International Specialized Exhibition EXPO-2017 with the theme “Future Energy” that will take place next year in Astana is one of the most important projects under the national program for the development of green energy.
The Chairman of the Board of National Company Astana EXPO-2017, Akhmetzhan Yessimov, who also gave a speech at the Forum, pointed out that “EXPO-2017 has a crucial scientific and political role to play in the creation of a new green model of the world economy.”
“To date, 103 countries and 17 international organizations have confirmed their participation in the exhibition. The construction is going according to schedule: we have already completed 85% of works. Over 13,700 people and 560 equipment units are involved in the construction process,” he stated.