In recent years, Kazakhstan's renewable energy has developed rapidly. Up to now, 108 renewable energy power stations have been put into operation. The total installed capacity of renewable energy power stations reached 1,500 megawatts, more than double that of the same period last year (733.54 megawatts).
In 2019, 21 renewable energy power stations in Kazakhstan were put into operation, with a total installed capacity of 504.55 MW. From January to June 2020, Kazakhstan will generate 1.4 billion kWh of renewable energy, a year-on-year increase of 55.3%. Although power generation has increased, its share in total power generation has dropped from 1.77% in the same period last year to 1.08%.
In 2019, Kazakhstan's renewable energy generated 2.4 billion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 77.8%, accounting for 2.3% of the total power generation. According to Kazakhstan’s green economy transition plan, by 2020, renewable energy should account for 3% of total power generation, 10% in 2030, and 50% in 2050.
As of the end of June 2020, among Kazakhstan's renewable energy power plants, biomass power plants have installed capacity of 7.82 MW, an increase of 4.5 times, but their proportion is still the smallest among renewable energy. The installed capacity of solar power plants reached 883.6 MW, a year-on-year increase of 2 times, and accounted for the largest proportion of renewable energy. The installed capacity of wind power stations was 383.9 MW, an increase of 65.6%; the installed capacity of small hydropower stations was 224.6 MW, an increase of 12%. Among the renewable energy power stations, solar power plants have the most power generation, reaching 60341 million kWh, followed by wind power (49626 million kWh), small hydropower (33139 million kWh) and biomass power generation (2.5 million kWh).
In 2014-2017, Kazakhstan adopted a fixed rate of tenge as the unit of electricity price for renewable energy generation. Since 2018, Kazakhstan has introduced a bidding mechanism for bidding. The winning bidder and the price of electricity for each project are determined by the Kazakhstan Electric Power Market Operation Co., Ltd. (KOREM) through bidding.
