09 February 2015 | 14:36

Solar power plant to be built in Aktau in western Kazakhstan

©REUTERS/Vincent Kessler

A solar power plant will be built in Aktau in western Kazakhstan, Tengrinews reports citing BNews.kz. The total cost of the project is $85.5 million.

Indian Empereal company focusing on renewable energy and desalination of water, the Mayor’s Office of Aktau and the region’s Chamber of Entrepreneurs signed an agreement to construct the plant for generation of solar and thermal energy and water desalination.

Mangistau Oblast in Kazakhstan's west was chosen as the plant’s location because of high level of solar activity there. In addition, such plants are usually located in remote areas or islands where it is not feasible to construct long power transmission lines, gas and water pipelines.

Empereal company successfully implemented similar projects in nine countries of the world. It hopes that this project will help Kazakhstan achieve its goal of generating at least 30% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020.

According to the company's founder and managing director Manoj Divakaran, the implementation of the project will begin in two months.

The company intends to build a modular plant, which will generate power from solar and thermal energy and will desalinate water. It takes around 12 - 15 months to construct the entire. The length of the construction periods depends on the plant’s capacity.

This plant will be capable of producing at least 10 million liters of water and 150 MW of electricity per day.

One of the main goals of this project is also to reduce an environmental burden in the region. “The company will retain the fixed tariff rates set by the Kazakh government for the next 20-25 years. That is, it is a long-term project. Within the frameworks of a public-private partnership, a land plot will be leased to the company (foreigners cannot buy land in Kazakhstan), and additional investments will be attracted. A company will manage the plant after its commissioning for the next 20 years, and after that, it will become state-owned. The project is part of the state-run program for development of renewable energy sources in Kazakhstan,” the Mayor of Aktau Yedil Zhanbyrshyn said.

The Indian company is not planning to stop at constructing the plant in Kazakhstan. Once the plant is built, they will open a research-and-innovation center in one of Kazakhstan's universities, they said.

Writing by Assel Satubaldina, editing by Tatyana Kuzmina

solar energy power plant plant news Mangistau Oblast Kazakhstan Kazakh industry