The current system of state support for the development of renewable energy sources has been fixed in the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan since 2009. The support system has been developed taking into account the best international practices.

In 2013, specific goals for the development of the renewable energy sector were formulated and, as a result, the volume of the renewable energy market and the potential for reducing greenhouse gases from renewable energy were determined. In the Concept of Kazakhstan's transition to a "green" economy and the "Strategy Kazakhstan-2050", these goals are to increase the share of alternative and renewable energy in the country's energy balance to 3% in 2020, to 15% in 2030, and to 50% in 2050.

At the moment, there are 134 operating renewable energy facilities with a total capacity of 2010 MW in the Republic (WPP-684 MW; SES-1038 MW; HPP-280 MW; BioES – 8 MW).

According to the results of 2021, the generation of electric energy by renewable energy facilities amounted to about 4,2 billion kWh.

For reference:

2014 – 26 facilities with a total installed capacity of 177.52 MW;
2015 – 48 facilities with a total installed capacity of 251 MW;
2016 – 51 objects with a total installed capacity of 295.7 MW;
2017 – 57 facilities with a total installed capacity of 342.8 MW;
2018 – 67 facilities with a total installed capacity of 531 MW;
2019 – 90 objects with a total installed capacity of 1050.1 MW;
2020 – 115 facilities with a total installed capacity of 1634.7 MW;

2021 – 134 facilities with a total installed capacity of 2010 MW.

By the end of 2022, it is planned to put into operation 10 facilities with a total capacity of 290,6 MW.

At the same time, the Ministry develops an annual schedule of auction auctions, the volume of the exhibited capacity is about 250 MW. The annual allocation of 250 MW allows us to systematically develop the renewable energy market and attract investment.

Measures to support the production of renewable energy

In accordance with the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Support for the use of Renewable Energy sources, it is possible for clean energy producers to sell the electricity produced from renewable energy sources in the public network, at special tariffs through the RES Settlement and Financial Support Center, which guarantees the purchase of electric energy from renewable energy sources. RES producers are exempt from paying for the services of energy transmission organizations for the transmission of electric energy, the priority for RES is determined when transmitting electricity through networks.

These measures of state support in the form of guaranteed purchase of electricity can stimulate the development of renewable energy sources.

At the same time, in order to obtain the above-mentioned support measures, the implementation of renewable energy projects is carried out through the auction bidding mechanism.

Information about auctions

The mechanism of international electronic auctions based on equality, fair competition and openness has been introduced (since 2018) in order to improve the investment climate and attract external and internal investments.

Every year, the Ministry approves the schedule of auction auctions, broken down by types, capacities and regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which is published on the official website of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, where you can also get acquainted with the reference guide for investors.

In accordance with the Rules for Organizing and Conducting Auctions (approved by the Order of the Minister of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 466 dated December 21, 2017), the schedule of auctions for 2022 will be published on the official website of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Results of auctions in 2021

According to the Auction Schedule approved by the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a total of 200 MW of installed capacity was put up for RES auctions in 2021, broken down by the following types of power plants: WPP – 50 MW; SES – 20 MW;  HPP – 120 MW; BioES – 10 MW.

The following maximum starting auction prices were set for the 2021 auctions:

WPP – 21.53 tg/kWh;
SES – 16.96 tg/kWh;
HPP – 15.2 tg/kWh;
Bio ES – 32.15 tg/kWh.

In total, 5 auctions were planned and held: 2 - for small projects, 3 - for large projects. The auctions were held in the normal mode, while 1 auction was declared invalid due to insufficient number of participants (large hydroelectric power plants).

24 companies from Kazakhstan took part in the auctions. The total volume of applications received from auction participants amounted to 626.95 MW, so the volume of demand exceeded the volume of supply by 3 times. In particular, for SES and small HPP projects, the volume of demand exceeded the volume of supply by about 3 times, but the greatest interest from investors was in in WPP, for which the volume of demand exceeded the volume of supply by 10 times.

According to the results of the auctions in 2021, the maximum reduction in the auction price for WPP was 34,6%, SES - 24,11%, small HPP - 1.31%, BioES - 0.03%. This is a good result, confirming that auctions provide a reduction in prices and allow determining market prices for electric energy from renewable energy facilities.

Unofficial translation