COUNTRY | Kazakhstan
REGION | Asia
SECTOR | energy
QII Principles | Principle 1 Sustainable Growth & Development, Principle 2 Economic Efficiency, Principle 3 Environmental Considerations, Principle 5 Social Considerations, Principle 6 Infrastructure Governance
QII Sub-Principles | 1: Paris Agreement, 2: Operation and maintenance, 3: Environmental Impact Assessment, 3: Environmental Impact Mitigation, 3: Emissions, 6: Financial & debt sustainability, 6: Institutional Framework of infrastructure investment, 6: Policy
Overview
The project entails financing of USD 30mm in Kazakh tenge (KZT) equivalent from the EBRD and up to USD 10.4mm in US dollar and euro equivalents (USD 8.8mm and EUR1.3mm) from the Clean Technology Fund, and a USD 12mm in KZT equivalent from the ADB to Baikonur Solar LLP, owned 51% by the United Green Group, a privately-owned strategic investment group, and 49% by a subsidiary of a Kazakh state-owned development fund, for the development, construction and operation of a ground-mounted fixed-installed solar photovoltaic power plant with a total capacity of up to 50MWp and an associated new substation in the Kyzylorda region of south Kazakhstan. This project is within the EBRD Kazakhstan Renewables Framework, and well represents the Bank?s total portfolio of 564 MW of solar projects in Kazakhstan.
Timeline
The SPP was successfully launched in December 2019 and is operational.
Relevance to QII
The Project entails 50MW of RES capacity introduced in Kazakhstan, annual savings of 75,000 tCO2 emissions. It further draws private-sector participants into the state-dominated market in Kazakhstan.
Benefits
The Project supports the Kazakhstan?s targets on renewable energy generation, thus contributing to Kazakhstan?s shift to cleaner and more diversified energy balance away from coal dependency. At present, only 1.3% of the country?s electricity is produced from renewable energy sources (excluding large hydros), as compared to a renewables penetration rate of 4% for the Bank?s countries of operations, as well as the Kazakh Government?s own target of 3% renewables rate by 2020.
Metrics
Success is monitored via the following benchmarks:
- Annual savings of 75,000 tCO2 emissions.
- 50MWp of solar capacity introduced with Baikonur SPP.
Name of Institution
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Website URL