Kazakhstan aims to create smart power system by 2030
By Aynur Jafarova
Kazakhstan plans to create a smart power system by 2030, board chairman of Samruk-Energo joint stock company Almasadam Satkaliyev was quoted as saying.
"Samruk-Energo considers it necessary to establish the Kazakh Smart Power System by 2030," Satkaliyev told a conference, "Access to energy: on the path to progress".
According to him, the transition to smart power systems is one of the major development trends in today's world electric power industry.
"The characteristic features of such systems are flexibility, control, automation, minimization of the human factor and the presence of accumulating stations," Satkaliyev said.
According to him, the use of a smart power system will give Kazakhstan an opportunity to painlessly integrate renewable energy sources (RES).
Satkaliyev believes that this can be done through the construction of combined power plants, for example, by using RES with hydro accumulation stations.
According to the Samruk-Energo board chairman, active consumers as opposed to the conventional passive ones will become one of the key components of the smart power systems.
He said that for example, electric cars not only consume energy from the power system but also provide electricity for it. When one does not use an electric car, while connected to the power system it will automatically sell electricity at rush hours, and buy it when the demand is down, thereby helping to cover rush hour loads. Besides, an electric car earns money for its owner due to the difference in prices for electricity provided during the rush hours and at regular time.
Satkaliyev said electric cars today are rare, but growth in their number is undeniable.
Climate change is presently one of the acute global issues, and shifting from hydrocarbon fuels to the use of renewable energy is one of the essential solutions to the problem.
Energy-rich Kazakhstan is currently looking for ways to use renewable energy sources. In late January, an action plan was adopted on the development of renewable energy sources for the period from 2013 to 2020.
Renewable energy, which is commonly called alternative energy, comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are naturally replenished. Renewable energy is an alternative to fossil fuels.
Experts believe that Kazakhstan has to turn to alternative energy sources by 2030, as the traditional sources are being exhausted and their prices are rising. They charge about 20-30 percent of domestically consumed energy can be saved through the use of alternative energy resources.
According to a recently adopted concept for a transition to 'green economy', in case of high domestic prices for natural gas, the energy basket of the country will comprise 11 percent of wind and solar energy sources while the share of nuclear power will be 8 percent, hydropower 10 percent, gas 21 percent and coal 49 percent by 2030.
Given Kazakhstan's natural conditions, it is clear that the most promising alternative energy sector is wind power generation. Relevant studies conducted in the Central Asian state's regions showed that wind power generation has vast potential.