The government of Kazakhstan has set a target to generate 1,040 MW of renewable energy by 2020. The government earlier said that it will reach this target by developing four solar energy plants, 13 wind energy plants, and 14 hydropower plan.
The new Kapshagai solar power plant was launched in the Almaty region in southern Kazakhstan last week.
"This is one of the first signs of our country’s switching over to a green economy,” Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev said during a national conference bridge devoted to the presentation of the Industrialization Roadmap investment projects last Friday in Astana. “I believe that we will be exhibiting it at EXPO-2017. May the Kapshagai project be an example for our country’s other regions in terms of generating solar energy.”
The Kapshagai solar power plant has been connected to Kazakhstan’s centralized power grid.
The project to construct a 2 MW solar power plant in the city of Kapshagai was implemented by Samruk-Energy, a subsidiary of National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported.
In October of this year a design, supply and turn-key construction agreement was signed with UK-based company BISOL Central Asia Ltd, wholly owned by Slovenia’s BISOL Group.
Samruk-Green Energy LLP, a wholly owned subsidiary of Samruk-Energy, has become the operator and owner of the solar plant upon completion of its construction. The project cost is 1.7 billion tenge (153.8 tenge/$1) according to the feasibility study.