Roman Bilousov: Central Asia Needs a Transnational Electricity Grid

Kazakhstan is “completely dependent” on Russia when it comes to balancing energy needs and the best solution is to create a transnational electricity grid in Central Asia, similar to the one in Europe, Roman Bilousov from Evenor Energy SA told.

To illustrate the magnitude of the potential projects, Kazakhstan’s ambassador to the EU, Margulan Baimukhan, said his country’s green transformation will require investments in low-carbon technologies, estimated at $610 billion before 2060.

He added that the other Central Asian partners, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan are facing similar investment requirements for their own green transition.

Speakers from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan emphasised hydropower projects, Uzbekistan the solar energy, and Turkmenistan hydrogen produced from gas.

Kazakhstan, however, although still heavily reliant on coal and fossil fuel, boasts the most advanced green hydrogen project, implemented by the Svevind Energy Group in the western part of the country, near the Caspian Sea.

Bilousov said Kazakhstan really embraced green energy in 2018 when it introduced the auction system in which companies around the world could participate. To date, 200 companies from 13 countries have taken part in these auctions, resulting in 130 renewable energy projects with a total of 2.5 Gigawatt of installed capacity.

Kazakhstan has also set itself the target of a 15% share of renewable energy in its energy mix by 2030, 50% by 2050 and 80% by 2060, Bilousov said.