BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 9. Kazakhstan's minimum auction price for wind power projects fell by 34% between 2018 and 2025, from 17.39 tenge ($0.0389) to 11.49 tenge ($0.0257) per kilowatt-hour (kWh), following the introduction of a renewable energy auction system, according to the National Energy Report prepared by the Kazenergy Association in cooperation with S&P Global.
According to the report, the introduction of auctions significantly reduced electricity prices for renewable energy projects compared with the previously used system of preferential fixed tariffs. It also enabled Kazakhstan to benefit from the global decline in renewable energy technology costs.
From 2018 to 2025, minimum auction prices for wind power projects decreased by an average of 5.7% annually, while those for solar power projects fell by approximately 3.7% per year.
The decline was uneven. For wind power plants, the minimum auction price fell from 17.39 tenge ($0.0389) per kWh in 2018 to a record low of 6.90 tenge ($0.0154) per kWh in 2024, before rising to 11.49 tenge ($0.0257) per kWh in 2025.
For solar power plants, following a substantial initial decline, prices have largely stabilized at around 14 tenge per kWh in recent years. The minimum auction price stood at 13.89 tenge ($0.0311) per kWh in 2023, 14.22 tenge ($0.0318) per kWh in 2024, and 13.85 tenge ($0.0310) per kWh in 2025.
The report also notes that, in 2023, the government supplemented the existing auction system with direct negotiations with selected foreign investors to accelerate the deployment of new renewable energy capacity. These projects are planned to be implemented outside competitive bidding procedures under intergovernmental agreements.
Five projects with a combined capacity of 3.9 gigawatts (GW) are planned for implementation by 2030. According to the report, they are being developed under a special international model that provides significant incentives, including 25-year electricity purchase agreements, guarantees of regulatory stability, electricity prices denominated in US dollars, and no requirement to participate in the electricity balancing market.
Three major projects, each with a capacity of 1 GW and involving battery energy storage systems (BESS), are being implemented by Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC (Masdar), TotalEnergies SE, and CPIH.
Two additional projects with a combined capacity of 900 megawatts (MW) are being implemented under direct investment agreements by China Energy Overseas Investment Co. Ltd (800 MW) and PetroKazakhstan Inc. (100 MW).
Kazakhstan is also developing two major hybrid power generation projects outside the country's auction system, the report says.
In 2026, the country's first hybrid power plant, with a capacity of 247 MW, was commissioned in the Mangystau region in partnership with Eni SpA.
The second project, being implemented jointly with Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina), is expected to be commissioned in 2029. It will increase the capacity of an existing wind power facility in the Almaty region from 60 MW to 810 MW and include the construction of a 310 MW hydropower plant. The hydropower facility is intended to compensate for fluctuations in wind power generation and ensure a stable electricity supply.
Currency conversions were calculated using the exchange rate of $1 = 447.14 tenge of the National Bank of Kazakhstan as of November 9, 2026.
