Total Eren, a leading renewable energy Independent Power Producer (“IPP”) based in Paris, has announced the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) with the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the National Wealth Fund “Samruk-Kazyna”, and the National Company “KazMunaiGas”.
According to the MoU, the parties will closely work on the development, financing, construction and operation of hybrid power plants deploying 1 GW wind energy combined with 500 MW-1 GWh of energy storage system to be located in central Kazakhstan.
It is the largest renewable energy project coupled with storage ever initiated by a private renewable IPP in the country.
It is a remarkable step forward for the energy sector in Kazakhstan, a country which has put in place a long-term sustainable strategy with the aim of reaching carbon neutrality by 2060, with an intermediary step of increasing the portion of renewables to 15% by 2030.
The project will provide reliable power and additional energy independence to the country, while fostering innovative technologies with battery storage and competitive electricity supply.
project will consist of about 200 wind turbines totalling 1 GW of installed capacity, coupled with a very large battery storage system (500 MW-1 GWh) provided by Saft, a pioneer in li-ion energy storage solutions and world-class player in energy transition 100% owned by TotalEnergies.
The project will produce about 3,800 GWh annually for 30 years, enough to supply more than 1 million people in Kazakhstan every year with low-carbon electricity, while reducing CO2 emissions by about 3.2 million tons per year.
The project will support regional sustainable growth and contribute to local employment. Diverse educational programs involving the local population such as workshops on renewable energy will be conducted in cooperation with the local municipalities, and a center of expertise on storage will be created. Early 2017, Total Eren was one of the first international players to develop renewable energy projects in Kazakhstan.
The company has developed, financed, built and commissioned in 2019 two solar photovoltaic farms (M-KAT and Nomad) totalling 128 MWp and respectively located in the Zhambyl and Kyzylorda regions.
Through these projects, Total Eren has engaged in various actions in favor of local development, including contributing to the fight against covid-19 and building local infrastructures.
Fabienne Demol, Executive Vice-President – Global Head of Business Development of Total Eren, stated: “We are very pleased to sign this MoU today with the Government of Kazakhstan, SamrukKazyna, and KazMunaiGas. We will work closely together to develop the 1 GW wind project, which will represent a unique reference and a pioneer innovation for the energy transition of Kazakhstan and more widely, of Central Asia.
“I am proud, together with my teams, to contribute to the development of a decarbonized economy in Kazakhstan, a country where Total Eren sees high potential thanks to great wind and solar resources and strong political support for renewable energy. We are looking forward to the next steps of the project.”
Ahlem Friga-Noy, Country chair for TotalEnergies in Kazakhstan commented: “TotalEnergies is pleased and proud with the signing of the 1GW onshore wind and storage Project MoU. This project will support Kazakhstan Low Carbon Development ambition announced by the President of Kazakhstan, Mr. Tokayev, by contributing significantly to increasing the share of renewables in the country’s energy mix, thus paving the way to the ultimate objective to achieve net zero by 2060.”
“TotalEnergies fully shares and supports the RoK’s ambition and will continue to provide its expertise and know-how to develop new and alternative sources of energies in Kazakhstan.”
Founded in 2012 by Pâris Mouratoglou and David Corchia, Total Eren develops, finances, builds and operates renewable energy power plants (solar, wind, hydro) representing a gross capacity of more than 3,500 MW in operation or under construction worldwide.
Through partnerships with local developers, Total Eren is currently developing numerous energy projects in countries and regions where renewable energy represents an economically viable response to growing energy demand such as in Europe, in Central and South Asia, in Asia Pacific, in Latin America and in Africa.
