At the government session chaired by the Prime Minister Askar Mamin, issues of the development of renewable energy sources were considered.

Minister of Energy Nurlan Nogayev, Chair of the Board of Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Management Company KEGOC Bakytzhan Kazhiev, Akims of Almaty region Amandyk Batalov, Zhambyl region — Berdibek Saparbayev, Karaganda region — Zhenis Kassymbek presented their reports.

“Improving the environmental situation in the country is one of the priority tasks set by President Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich Tokayev. Renewable energy sources are one of the tools for improving the ecology and environment. It is necessary to carry out systematic work to develop this industry,’’ Mamin said.

In 2020, 25 renewable energy facilities with a capacity of 583 MW were commissioned in Kazakhstan — 10 wind, 1 hydro and 12 solar power plants. The generation of electricity by renewable sources increased, compared to 2019, by 74% to 3.24 billion kWh (3% of the total energy generated in the country). This year, 23 projects of 381 MW will be implemented — 13 wind farms, 5 hydroelectric power plants and 5 solar power plants.

According to the implemented Concept of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the Transition to a Green Economy, by 2050 half of the generated electricity will come from alternative energy. This will allow Kazakhstan to fulfill its obligations under the Paris Agreement on low-carbon and climate-resilient development, as well as develop green energy in line with global trends.

To ensure the sustainability of the Unified Energy System of Kazakhstan, the Head of Government instructed the Ministry of Energy, together with the Ministry of Ecology and KEGOC, to submit proposals for the development of agile power generation, as well as to work out issues on the introduction of RES storage devices.

The Ministry of Energy, together with akimats, was instructed to work out the issues of creating regional RES zones.

“The launch of gas-fired power plants will increase the capacity of the energy system to integrate additional volumes of renewable energy sources. In this regard, I instruct the Ministry of Energy, together with KEGOC JSC, to work on the implementation of the balancing market in real time from 2022,” Mamin said.