Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The share of renewable energy sources in Kazakhstan's power grid will reach to 3 percent by 2020.

The news was announced by Astana Solar LLP, a company involved in the production of solar cells, Trend Agency reported.

"The company plans to commission some renewable energy source facilities with a total installed capacity of 3,054.5 MW, some 713.5 MW of which will account for 28 solar power plants in 2014- 2020. Under the plan, the share of renewable energy sources in the country's energy system will stand at 3 percent by 2020," the Astana Solar LLP noted.

Kazakhstan's laws in the renewable energy source will enable the country to attract investors to take part in the the development of this sector.

Astana Solar LLP is a subsidiary of the Kazatomprom JSC, established in 2011 for implementation of a joint project with France to develop solar energy technologies in Kazakhstan and create fully integrated production line for manufacturing the photovoltaic panels.

Astana Solar LLP is the first Kazakh producer of solar panels.

Climate change is presently one of the acute global issues, and shifting from hydrocarbon fuels to renewable energy is one of the essential solutions to the problem.

Energy-rich Kazakhstan is currently looking for ways to use renewable energy sources. In late January, an action plan was adopted on the development of renewable energy sources for a period from 2013 to 2020.

Experts believe that Kazakhstan has to turn to alternative energy sources by 2030, as the traditional sources are being exhausted and their prices are rising. They charge about 20-30 percent of domestically consumed energy can be saved by using alternative energy resources.

According to a recently adopted concept for a transition to 'green economy', in case of high domestic prices for natural gas, the energy basket of the country will comprise 11 percent of wind and solar energy sources while the share of nuclear power will be 8 percent, hydropower 10 percent, gas 21 percent and coal 49 percent by 2030.

Given Kazakhstan's natural conditions, it is clear that the most promising alternative energy sector is wind power generation. Relevant studies conducted in the Central Asian state's regions showed that wind power generation has vast potential.