OREANDA-NEWS. December 01, 2014. 50 MW wind power project in Yereymentau will road-test new renewables legislation which EBRD helped develop
 
In a landmark project for Kazakhstan’s renewables industry, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting the first large-scale wind farm in the country to be financed under the new feed-in-tariff mechanism.
 
The EBRD and the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) will finance the construction, connection to the power transmission grid, commissioning and launch of a greenfield 50 MW wind power plant located in Yereymentau, in central Kazakhstan.
 
The EBRD will provide a 14 billion tenge (EUR59.2 million equivalent) loan to Wind Power Yereymentau, a special-purpose vehicle incorporated in Kazakhstan, while up to EUR 18 million of concessional financing will be provided by CTF.
 
The loan will be guaranteed by JSC Samruk-Energo, Kazakhstan’s national energy company and ultimate owner of the company.
 
Yereymentau Wind Park will be the first power sector project in Kazakhstan to receive CTF funding.
 
“The signing of this loan agreement is in line with Kazakhstan’s low-carbon economy agenda. This year we are completing the construction of the first wind farm with a 45 MW capacity. Our partnership with the EBRD and the CTF will enable us to increase capacity up to 95 MW,” said Almassadam Satkaliyev, Chairman of the Management Board of JSC Samruk-Energo.
 
“The partnership between the EBRD and CTF to finance this first wind farm project in Kazakhstan under the new feed-in-tariff mechanism demonstrates the contribution that climate finance can make to moving renewable energy into the mainstream,” added Mafalda Duarte, Program Manager of the Climate Investment Funds.
 
The wind power plant is expected to offset 120,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum, equivalent to 450 return flights from Astana to Almaty, in a country still dominated by coal-fired power generation. Over 70 per cent of the electricity produced in Kazakhstan today is generated by coal-fired power plants benefiting from easily accessible local coal reservoirs.
 
However, Kazakhstan is seen as one of the most promising countries in the region for both wind and photovoltaic energy investments. About 50 per cent of Kazakhstan’s territory has an estimated average wind speed of about 4-5 m/s at a height of 30 m above the ground. The country’s overall wind potential is estimated to be around 18,000 GWh per year. To date renewable energy in Kazakhstan has been limited to a few hydropower plants that were mostly built in the Soviet era.
 
“Supporting clean energy projects is at the core of the EBRD’s mandate. We stand ready to help Kazakhstan unlock its potential in renewables by financing pilot projects with strong local and foreign companies,” said Riccardo Puliti, EBRD Managing Director for Energy and Natural Resources.
 
The EBRD support for the Yereymentau wind project is the result of successful cooperation with the government of Kazakhstan to create the legal and regulatory frameworks for renewable energy. The renewable energy law was introduced in June 2013, with tariffs for renewable energy off-take agreed in 2014.
 
This first wind farm in the country will road-test the new regulations and will set a new benchmark in terms of developing, building and operating a greenfield renewable project.