WSHPDR_2013_Final_Report-updated_version

3.1.1 Kazakhstan
Yingnan Zhang, International Center on Small Hydro
Power
Hydropower
Thermal
10%
90%
Key facts
Population 17,522,010 1
Area 2,724,900 km 2 . 1
Climate Continental, cold winters and hot
summers, arid and semiarid 1
Topography Vast flat steppe extending from the
Volga in the west to the Altai Mountains
in the east and from the plains of
western Siberia in the north to oases
and deserts of Central Asia in the south
(highest point: Mount Khan Tengry,
7,010 m) 1
Rain
pattern
Precipitation in the form of rain is
insignificant, except for mountainous
regions. In the zone of forest steppe
precipitation is 300-400 mm per year,
decreasing to 250 mm in the steppe
zone; in the territory of the Kazakh
rolling hills annual precipitation
increases to 300-400 mm and in semideserts
and deserts decreases to 200-
100 mm. In the foothills and mountains
precipitation varies from 400 mm to
1,600 mm per year 2
Electricity sector overview
The power sector is one of the best developed sectors
in Kazakhstan’s economy. Only very small fractions
(3.5 per cent) of the rural settlements do not have
access to energy and electricity. 3 According to the
World Energy Outlook 2011, the country’s
electrification access is 98 per cent. 4
Electricity generation capacity was 18.7 GW in 2010.
Electricity in 2011 was mostly generated by fossil fuels,
given that Kazakhstan has rich gas, oil and coal
reserves (figure 1).
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Figure 1 Electricity generation in Kazakhstan
Source: World Bank 5
Note: Data from 2011.
The electricity market was privatized after the country
gained independence from the Soviet Union.
Electricity generation infrastructure is old and needs
upgrading, as transmission and distribution lines are
inefficient and cause losses around 15 per cent. 6
Small hydropower sector overview and potential
Hydropower accounted for 3 per cent of total primary
energy needs and contributed 10 per cent of the total
electricity generated as per data of the Agency of the
Republic of Kazakhstan on Regulation of Natural
Monopolies (ANMR) in 2011. 7 There are seven small
hydropower plants (with a capacity below 10 MW),
with a total installed capacity of 78 MW (figure 2).
Kazakhstan has about 13 TWh of small hydropower
economically developable potential, mainly located in
East Kazakhstan, Zhambyl, Almaty and the southern
Kazakhstani oblast/provinces (table). 3
According to the European Bank of Reconstruction,
many small hydropower projects in Kazakhstan are
under reconstruction and renovation, some small
hydropower plants are added to existing water
management projects with small dams and reservoirs. 3
SHP installed
capacity
SHP potential
78 MW
0 1000 2000 3000
2707 MW
Figure 2 Small hydropower capacities in Kazakhstan
Source: German Agency for Technical Cooperation 3 ,
Kazakhstan, Ministry of Environment Protection 8
Small hydropower projects in Kazakhstan
Regions Number of projects Projected installed capacity
(MW)
Annual production
(GWh)
East Kazakhstani oblast 68 349 1 700
Almaty oblast -- 1 762 8 700
Southern Kazakhstani oblast 112 421 1 800
Zhambyl oblast 77 175 700
Total 257 2 707 12 900
Source: German Agency for Technical Cooperation 3
Renewable energy policy
Rich gas and oil resources in Kazakhstan have largely
prevented the development of a renewable energy
market. However, the country has drafted strategy
and legislation to encourage the development of
renewable energy, with wind energy being the most
promising. In 2009, the Parliament of Kazakhstan
passed the Law on Use of Renewable Energy Sources
establishing a regulatory framework in the country and
commitment of achieving five per cent renewable
220