Kazakhstan enters into bilateral agreements with large foreign companies, because it does not hope that all investors who have won at auctions of renewable energy sources (RES) will implement their projects, Director of the Department of Electric Power Development of the Ministry of Energy Aidos Daribayev said.
"We have approved a five-year auction schedule for a total of about 6.5 GW of capacity. At the same time, it should be understood that there are always risks that these contracts, which are concluded directly, or auction, are not implemented at all. We can't plan construction on the spot. There are risks that construction will be delayed. Perhaps the auction will not take place, other geopolitical, financial things and the like are possible, which may overlap," he said at a press conference at QazaqGreenFest 2023.
According to him, if Kazakhstan does not fulfill its obligations to increase the share of renewable energy, it will incur reputational risks.
"What are our tasks: by 2030, we should have a 15% share of generation. If we pay attention to the energy balance of 2035, then the commissioning of new renewable energy capacities should be at the level of 7 GW, taking into account hydroelectric power plants. Imagine what an array of investments and, in general, construction on the territory of Kazakhstan is," the head of the department said, recalling that 132 2.5 GW renewable energy facilities are already operating in the country.
In turn, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the QazaqGreen Association Nurlan Kapenov noted that market participants suggest that the government should avoid concluding direct bilateral agreements on major renewable energy projects, since such practice restricts competition and infringes on the rights of investors who come to Kazakhstan on auction terms.
"We have an excellent auction system in Kazakhstan, which gives minimum tariffs, and a contract for 25 years is signed here. According to the law, we can issue a contract for the purchase of green electricity... Intergovernmental agreements discredit the market, there is discrimination of the business community. Everyone else is fighting in a fair fight in auctions, there is also a direct signing. Firstly, there – 20 years, here – 25 years. Secondly, the tariff is in tenge for everyone on a common basis, and here the tariff is in hard currency," he said.
He recalled that the Government of Kazakhstan has concluded and intends to conclude further intergovernmental agreements.
"With France, Total Eren will sell 1 GW of wind together with Samruk-Kazyna and KazMunayGas, that is, this is a very large volume. The average capacity of the plant in Kazakhstan is 50 MW, which turns out to be like 20 power plants. We also signed an agreement with the Saudi company Aqua Power for 1 GW, an agreement was signed with Masdar (UAE) and, as the representative of Kursiv said now, the president also went to China just last week, an agreement for 1 GW was also reached. There is already a reservation about localization," Kapenov said.
In his opinion, the practice of concluding contracts for large RES with tariffs in hard currency carries risks.
"I assume that this is some kind of yoke on the shoulders of the people of Kazakhstan, because for 25 years we will be obliged to pay in US dollars or in euros to a company that just signed a contract and did something in return. This tariff falls on the population and on business," he said.
Therefore, Kapenov believes that the government should conduct two-stage tenders for large projects in order to achieve market tariffs at the expense of competition. In particular, the prequalification of large RES investors is carried out in Uzbekistan.
Earlier, Samruk-Kazyna reported that the State Energy Investment Corporation of China (State Power Investment Corporation) plans to build several plants in Kazakhstan for the production of components for wind farms.
A new park of wind power plants with Chinese SANY Renewable Energy will be created in Zhambyl region. Its capacity will be 1 GW. This will increase the total renewable generation capacity in Kazakhstan by 40%. An energy storage facility will be built next to the wind farm, which will smooth out fluctuations in wind generation when weather conditions change. In addition, State Power Investment Corporation intends to build several modern factories in the republic for the production of towers, gondolas and blades for wind turbines.
Also during the meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Chairman of the Board of State Power Investment Corporation spoke about plans to build a thermal power plant with a capacity of up to 200 Gcal/h in the south of Kazakhstan.
For comparison, according to the feasibility study developed for the planned Kokshetau TPP, the station's capacity will be 240 MW of electric and 520 Gcal/h of thermal energy. Kokshetau is the only regional center in Kazakhstan where there are no thermal power plants, and consumers use electric water heaters (it is called the "city of Aristons"). Thus, we are talking about plans for the construction of a small thermal power plant by a Chinese company in the south of Kazakhstan.
In addition, taking into account the extensive technological and research experience of State Power Investment Corporation, prospects for cooperation in the production of "green" hydrogen were considered.
In April, it was reported that the Ministry of Energy, KazMunayGas and the French TotalEren agreed on tariffs for the purchase of electricity for a wind farm with a capacity of 1 GW and a cost of $1.9 billion planned for construction in the village of Mirny, Zhambyl region. In December last year, Samruk-Kazyna signed an agreement with the French company Total Eren on the creation of a wind farm with an electricity storage system in Kazakhstan. The power plant is planned to be launched in 2026-2027 in Zhambyl region.
The state holding noted that for the first time in Kazakhstan, the renewable energy station will be supplemented with an electricity storage system, which will smooth out natural fluctuations in renewable generation. Samruk-Kazyna reported that the shares in the project will be distributed as follows: Samruk-Kazyna (20%), KazMunayGas (20%) and Total Eren (60%).
Agreements on both projects – Chinese and French – were concluded during the visits of the head of state directly, bypassing the existing scheme, when investors should win the right to build a renewable energy facility at one of the auctions of the Ministry of Energy by offering the lowest price for electricity. At the same time, other participants in the renewable energy market expressed dissatisfaction with this practice.
 
https://kz.kursiv.media/2023-05-25/zhnb-windpowerkzplans/