Kazakhstan announces $150m wind investment

KAZAKHSTAN: Kazakhstan plans to build up to six wind projects in northern Kazakhstan by 2018, according to a recent statement by Anton Fedyaev, head of the department of housing and communal services and energy of the Kazakh government.

by Eugene Gerden 24 April 2014

Fedyaev said the projects form part of an existing state programme to develop renewables in the country through to 2018.

The wind farms will be built in the Taiynshinsky, Akkayynsky, and Esilsky regions. The installed capacity of each development will range from 35MW to 100MW.

There is a possibility that the project may involve the participation of foreign investors.

According to Fedyaev, investment in the project will be in the range of $100-150 million, the majority of which are expected to be provided from the state budget.

The Kazakh government is aiming to increase the share of renewables in the country's energy mix from the current 1% to 3% by 2020.

In December, FWT started production of 22 2MW turbines for the first wind farm in Kazakhstan. The Ereymentau project is located near the capital Astana in an agricultural region in the north of the country.