EBRD to support Kazakhstan's national green growth plan
By Aynur Jafarova
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will support Kazakhstan's National Green Growth Plan, the bank reported on November 12.
First Vice President of the bank, Phil Bennett reaffirmed the EBRD's support for the plan during his first visit to the country.
During meetings with members of the Kazakh government and business community, Bennett said that the EBRD remains committed to the country's sustainable development.
He stressed that the bank places special emphasis on sustainable energy and is ready to support viable projects in the nascent renewable sector, specifically wind and solar power.
The EBRD is already considering financing the first major wind farm in Yereymentau.
"We look forward to working together with the authorities to identify and finance bankable projects in this sector. We are also committed to supporting regional development and improving people's lives through investments in municipal and environmental infrastructure. A good example of this is our ongoing cooperation with the city of Almaty, which has just added new trolleybuses to its transport fleet to reduce pollution. We hope to work with other municipalities across the country to improve public transport, waste management, district heating networks, and water supply," Bennett said.
The EBRD has a long track record of engagement in sustainable energy in Kazakhstan and has supported the country's participation in the Clean Technology Fund (CTF).
The legal framework for renewable energy in Kazakhstan was developed with the EBRD's involvement and $1 million in financial support from the CTF.
Since 2008, the bank has invested over $500 million for energy efficiency improvements in Kazakhstan, accounting for more than 20 percent of the EBRD's overall investments in the country.
Currently the EBRD is developing new approaches to financing clean technology transfer to Kazakh industry with support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
A recent example of these is a €106 million energy efficiency loan to CAEPCO, one of the few private companies in Kazakhstan's energy sector.
The loan will enable the rehabilitation and modernization of CAEPCO's combined heat and power generating capacity as well as the company's distribution network.
The project is expected to lead to a reduction in carbon emissions of 470,000 tons of CO2 per year.
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.
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.