Nur-Sultan, February 3 - Neftegaz.RU. Developing renewable energy, introducing clean technologies and promoting decarbonization of the economy is something that countries can no longer delay.
Kazakhstan is no exception as it sets ambitious targets to unlock its renewable energy potential and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
More about the country’s efforts in this area is in the latest analytical article of Kazinform.
In 2013, Kazakhstan adopted a plan to transition to a green economy and in 2016, Kazakhstan signed the Paris Agreement pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15% by 2030 relative to the level of 1990.
Kazakhstan set ambitious goals for the development of renewable energy.
At the end of 2020, it brought the share of renewable energy in the total electricity production to 3 % and now seeks to increase it to 15 % by 2030, 5% more than the initial target, and by at least 50 % by 2050.
While for Kazakhstan, which has heavily relied on fossil fuels for years and leads in Central Asia in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, transitioning to green growth might be a challenge, its active efforts and political will demonstrated by President Tokayev are notable.
According to Timur Shalabayev, Executive Director at Kazakhstan’s Solar Energy Association, Kazakhstan has everything to develop its renewable energy sector.
He cited expert estimates of the potential of wind energy to be nearly 920 billion kW⋅h per year, the technically feasible hydro potential at 62 billion kW⋅h, and the potential of solar energy in the southern regions of the country at 2,500–3,000 hours of sunshine per year.
Based on the results of 2021, there are 134 renewable energy stations in Kazakhstan: 40 wind power stations, 49 solar power stations, 40 small hydropower stations, 5 bio-power stations.
The total installed capacities of existing renewable energy stations in the country are 2,010 megawatt.
These capacities currently generate around 3.5-4 % of the electricity in the country
At the Climate Ambitions Summit in December 2020, President Tokayev declared his country’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
He also repeatedly voiced the urgent need to address problems in the electricity power industry that hinder the potential growth of the renewable energy sector.
Tokayev proposed launching pilot projects to install solar panels and micro-power plants as part of the development of smart cities.
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Away from fossil fuels: Kazakhstan sets ambitious goals for renewable energy
Kazakh President Tokayev proposed at the meeting on the energy sector development last year, saying that more measures are needed to encourage people to use renewable energy sources
