Kazakhstan

Hevel Group has started building 100 MW of solar in northern Kazakhstan. The project, which the Russian PV group claims will be one of the largest solar plants in the Commonwealth of Independent States, is part of its 178 MW pipeline in the Central Asian country.

The Kazakh state-owned national atomic energy company has sold its three manufacturing units to an international consortium. The sale of its solar business has been planned since May 2017.

The international financial institution and the South Korea-based fund have agreed to jointly lend $16.7 million to Chinese developer Universal Energy to build a 30 MWp solar project in the eastern part of the Central Asian country.

The Asian Development Bank has signed an agreement to finance a project in the south of the central Asian nation.

While solar is lauded as a cheap energy resource in OECD countries, the cost of financing PV projects in developing nations has impeded progress. Development banks and the Clean Technology Fund they finance have played a key role in providing access to cheap financing for clean energy projects in many markets.

Since 2012, Kazakhstan has shown increased interest in its energy transition and put in place supportive regulations. The country lies in the path of China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative, which unlocks large-scale infrastructure investments.

The SES Saran solar project is in the Karaganda region. The project was financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and built by German developer Goldbeck.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Joachim Goldbeck Holding GmbH have joined forces for the construction of a 100 MW in the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan.

The European Bank of Redevelopment and Construction (EBRD) will provide financing for an up to 28 MW solar PV park, to be developed by Nomad Solar in Kazakhstan.

Four PV projects totaling 170 MW were selected in the first of a series of RE auctions to be held this year. Overall, the Kazakh government is planning to assign 290 MW of solar and a total of 1 GW of renewable energy capacity.