ASTANA, Kazakhstan, April 3. Kazakhstan pays special attention to the development of renewable energy sources. Every year, the country makes decisions and enters into major agreements aimed at developing green energy sources.
Kazakhstan's renewable energy installations generated 6.675 billion kWh of electricity by the end of 2023. This volume accounts for 5.92 percent of total electrical energy production in 2023.
The country currently has 147 renewable energy facilities (over 100 kW) with an installed capacity of 2,903.54 MW: 59 wind power plants with a capacity of 1,409.55 MW; 46 solar power plant facilities with a capacity of 1,222.61 MW; 39 hydroelectric power plants with a capacity of 269.605 MW; and three biogas power plant facilities with a capacity of 1.77 MW.
Furthermore, by the end of 2023, 16 renewable energy facilities with a total installed capacity of 495.57 MW had been operational: 12 wind farms with a total capacity of 437.1 MW in the Akmola and Zhetysu regions, 2 hydroelectric power plants with a total capacity of 3.7 MW in the Almaty and Turkestan regions, and two solar power plants with a capacity of 54.77 MW in the Turkestan region.
International cooperation
- On January 15, KazMunayGas and Japan Yokogawa Electric Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The Memorandum identifies opportunities for developing cooperation between the parties in the analysis and implementation of financing mechanisms in the field of decarbonization from the Japanese government using technologies from Yokogawa Electric Corporation and its subsidiary KBC Advanced Technologies.
- Kazakhstan's QazaqGaz and Italian Eni have signed a cooperation agreement. The agreement will allow QazaqGaz and Agip Caspian Sea B.V. (a subsidiary of Eni) to expand cooperation in the exchange of experience among scientific, technical, and research centers to develop technological innovations and human capital, with the aim of reducing carbon emissions in gas industry operations.
- The Qatari Nebras Power intends to build a new hydroelectric power station with a capacity of up to 350 MW in eastern Kazakhstan. A corresponding agreement was signed between the company and Kazakhstan's Samruk-Kazyna as part of an investment roundtable in Doha.
- LUKOIL has started construction of a solar power plant in the Almaty region of Kazakhstan. The solar power plant will be located next to the LUKOIL lubricants plant (a 100 percent subsidiary of LUKOIL) and will provide energy supply to the production facilities of the plant with environmentally friendly solar energy. The design capacity of the power plant is 4.95 MW. Construction of the first stage of 2 MW is planned to be completed in 2024.
- Kazakhstan's Samruk-Energy and the China International Water and Electric Corporation (CWE) have signed a cooperation agreement on the project of the first pumped storage hydropower in Kazakhstan.
- Chinese Sany Group Co. Ltd. wants to build a plant for assembling parts for wind power plants in Kazakhstan.
- Chinese State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) will continue to implement green energy projects in Kazakhstan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company Liu Mingsheng stated.
- An agreement was signed between the government of Kazakhstan and the government of Saudi Arabia on the implementation of a joint project to build a wind power plant.
Further development of the green industry
- Kazakhstan intends to put into operation 11 renewable energy facilities with a total capacity of 259 MW in 2024.
- Kazakhstan has announced plans to implement large renewable energy projects in the coming years. The introduction of five large renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 5 GW is planned for 2029–2030.
- Kazakhstan plans to build seven renewable energy facilities with a capacity of 48 MW in the Turkestan region by 2025.
- Kazakhstan plans to build a third wind power plant with a capacity of 1 GW in the Abay region.
- By 2027, it is planned to commission 25 renewable energy projects with a capacity of 599.85 MW.
Kazatomprom
- Kazatomprom (the national uranium company of Kazakhstan) announced the expectation of a reduction in uranium production in 2024 compared to planned volumes (it was planned to increase to 100 percent). Thus, the company planned to increase production volumes to 90 percent of subsoil use contracts in 2024, compared to 80 percent in 2023. At the same time, the company remains committed to its uranium supply obligations in 2024.
- At the end of 2024, Fitch Ratings upgraded Kazatomprom's (Kazakhstan's National Atomic Company's) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'BBB' from 'BBB-' with a stable outlook.
- In addition, at the beginning of February, Kazatomprom reported that sales volume for the company amounted to 18,069 tons of uranium from January through December 2023, which is 10 percent more than the same period in 2022 (16,358 tons). For the fourth quarter of 2023, sales were 5,863 tons, which was 94 percent more than the fourth quarter of 2022 (3,025 tons).
- Moreover, uranium production by Kazatomprom amounted to 21,112 tons from January through December 2023, which is 1 percent lower than the same period in 2022 (21,227 tons). In the fourth quarter of 2023, production amounted to 5,795 tons. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, production volume remained unchanged (5,780 tons).
- As Kazatomprom stated, the company plans to produce 21,000–22,500 tons of uranium in 2024. The company plans to increase production compared to 2023, when 21,112 tons of uranium were produced, which is 1 percent lower than the same period in 2022 (21,227 tons).
- Kazakhstan intended to increase its share of supplying US energy companies with natural uranium.