Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan To Develop Wind Energy Sector

Kazachstan, 9 December 2004 - On 9 December, 2004, UNDP and the Government of Kazakhstan launched a three-year project to develop the wind energy sector, the first large-scale project aimed at increasing the use of alternative energy sources in Kazakhstan.

The project envisages the construction of the first 5-MW wind power plant to prepare the basis for future investments in this sector. The construction plan is based on the results of UNDP’s two-year study of wind potential in the Jungar Gates in the South-East of Kazakhstan. Along with assistance in power plant construction and information campaign, UNDP will also assist the government in formulation of the National Programme on developing the wind energy sector, expanding the programme of wind speed measurements and preparing maps of wind potential in different regions.

Given Kazakhstan’s impressively rapid economic growth, it is expected that the level of emissions causing the greenhouse effect will rise in the coming years. While significant resources are available in the form of hydro, solar and wind energy, Kazakhstan nonetheless derives 98 percent of energy consumed from coal, oil and gas. Kazakhstan’s wind energy potential is estimated at 1,820 billion KW-hr, making this a very promising sector. By 2030, wind energy is expected to supply 500 MW, or about 12 percent of Kazakhstan’s energy consumption. There is also an opportunity to significantly reduce the cost of wind energy in the future by producing parts of turbines in Kazakhstan in cooperation with western companies.

The current project is a part of the government’s strategy on meeting its obligations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change signed by Kazakhstan in 1995. The Global Environmental Facility (GEF) provided over $2 million for the project, and it is expected that private companies will contribute another $4 million.

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