ASTANA, Kazakhstan, July 7. The technical assistance team of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is going to conduct a pre-feasibility study aiming to identify Kazakhstan's potential for energy transition mechanism opportunities, Trend reports.
As noted by the bank, the planned investigation is going to study opportunities and possible transition mechanisms in Kazakhstan to accelerate the replacement of coal-fired power plants and combined heat-power plants with cleaner energy sources.
The study is going to be conducted at the request of Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy, which can be attributed to Kazakhstan's goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2060.
Furthermore, this investigation is more likely to be beneficial to the country, since according to ADB, Kazakhstan's proven coal reserves are estimated at 25.6 billion tons, which makes it eighth in the world. In addition, more than 50 percent of Kazakhstan’s primary energy is generated from coal, two-thirds of which is used in the power sector.
Among other reasons behind this research is the fact that as of 2021 coal-based generation in Kazakhstan accounts for 69 percent of electricity production, followed by natural gas at 20 percent, hydropower at 8 percent, and renewable energy sources at 3 percent.
While it may seem advantageous to replace coal and other high-carbon power plants with clean energy sources, the Asian Development Bank has raised some concerns. According to the bank, the efforts to reduce carbon emissions are likely to have a major impact on communities that rely on coal and other high-carbon fuel sectors. These communities will face job losses and a decline in revenue. The bank recommends that the government of Kazakhstan take steps to ensure that these communities are not neglected during the transition to a low-carbon society.
