Is Kazakhstan a good place to install solar power plants?

At least 50% of the territory of Kazakhstan is suitable for installing solar power plants (Antonov, 2014). However, up until recently, solar resources of the country were not being used for power generation. Kazakhstan is developing solar energy technologies, namely production of photovoltaic modules using local silicon.

Why is Kazakhstan developing solar energy technologies?

Kazakhstan is developing solar energy technologies, namely production of photovoltaic modules using local silicon. As Kazakhstan is rich in silicon (85 million tons), production of silicon solar batteries on the domestic market was started (Sim, 2015).

What was the installed solar power capacity in Kazakhstan in 2018?

As of 2018, the solar power generation was 0.1 TWh and the installed capacity was 209 MW. Solar power generation in renewables energy is expected to meet the highest electricity demand on Kazakhstan's power grid.

How big is solar capacity in Kazakhstan?

Back in 2015, Astana was predicting installed solar capacity by the end of 2020 to reach 714 MW. A government report last month said solar capacity had reached 467 MW. Indeed, renewables are still small fry in Kazakhstan. Today solar accounts for 56 percent of the country’s total renewable capacity.

Does Kazakhstan have solar power?

True, Kazakhstan has over 85 percent of Central Asia’s total solar potential, according to a UN estimate. Yet Nazarbayev’s ambition has been slow to meet reality: Four years later, Kazakhstan had only a modest 157 MW of installed solar capacity, about enough to power a small city. State capitalism in China then offered Kazakhstan a nudge.

What is Kazakhstan's largest solar project?

Kazakhstan’s largest solar project – a 100 MW field in Saran, Karaganda Province – was opened last year by a German company, also with EBRD backing. Russian engineers doubled capacity at the EBRD-backed Burnoye plant in Zhambyl in 2018.