Kazakhstan’s solar auctions conclude with lowest price of $0.035/kWh

Kazakhstan electricity and power market operator JSC Korem has allocated 55 MW of PV capacity in two solar energy auctions finalized last week.

In an auction for two solar projects with a capacity of 20 MW each, JSC Korem had originally pre-qualified 49 bidders and set a ceiling price of KZT16.97/kWh ($0.041). The two projects, which are planned to be located near the city of Kentau in the rural district of Iassy, in the Turkestan region; and near the city of Aralsk, in the Kyzylorda region, respectively, were both secured by Russian solar module manufacturer and project developer Hevel Solar, which offered a final price of KZT16.96/kWh ($0.040) and KZT14.58/kWh ($0.035), respectively. “The lowest bid secured new contracts, increasing [the] company’s portfolio in Kazakhstan to 288 MW of solar PV,” Hevel deputy CEO Anton Usachev told pv magazine.

In a second auction for smaller solar parks with a combined capacity of 15 MW, 49 bidders participated and the total volume of applications reached 36.15 MW, with the ceiling price being the same as the other PV auction. The lowest final price in this procurement exercise reached KZT14.99/kWh.

In the first solar auction, held in 2018, JSC Korem selected four PV projects totaling 170 MW and the lowest bid was KZT18.6/kWh. In a second, 50 MW procurement exercise held a year later, the total allocated power was 50 MW and the lowest price was KZT12.49.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, Kazakhstan had an installed solar power generation capacity of around 542 MW at the end of 2019. Most of this capacity – around 333 MW – was deployed in 2019 alone.