Kyzylorda, 22 October. Orda Power has begun building a 5 MW solar power plant with an energy storage system in Kyzylorda, the first such plant in the region; 18 billion tenge will be invested in it and it is due to enter service in 2027, the Kyzylorda regional akimat said.
The plant's capacity is later to be raised to 50 MW. In the first phase it will produce about 7–8 million kWh of electricity a year, and after expansion up to 70–80 million kWh. An energy storage system is a set of batteries that store electricity generated during the day and feed it into the grid when the sun is not shining; this eases the main drawback of solar plants, their dependence on the time of day and the weather.
Orda Power is a Kazakh company formerly called Kyzylorda Energy Gaz; it is owned by a Turkish businessman. The owner's name, the terms of electricity sales and the contractor are not named in the sources.
What it means: Kyzylorda will get a solar plant that can supply power in the evening as well as during the day. It is small for now, 5 MW, but is presented as a first step towards a 50 MW plant.
Who benefits: The regional power system gets an additional source with smoother output; the investor gets its own generation. The sources do not say on what terms the plant will sell electricity.
Background: Renewable sources account for almost 9% of electricity generation in Kazakhstan, according to the analytical channel LogiStan.
List of sources used: Kyzylorda regional akimat, LogiStan
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
