Sustainable Energy in Kazakhstan Moving to cleaner energy in a resource-rich country Central Asia Research Forum Series

Kazakhstan is rich in natural resources including coal, oil, natural gas and uranium and has significant renewable potential from wind, solar, hydro and biomass. In spite of this, the country is currently dependent upon fossil fuels with coal-fired plants accounting for 75% of total power generation leading to concerns over greenhouse gas emissions and impacts on human health and the environment.

This book analyses the implications of the global shift to cleaner energy for a country whose economy has centred on hydrocarbon exports. The challenge is urgent for Kazakhstan, whose recent economic growth has driven increased demand for energy services, making the construction of additional generating capacity increasingly necessary for enabling sustained growth. In this context, renewable energy resources are becoming an increasingly attractive option to help bridge the demand-supply gap. Chapters written by experts in the field provide a comprehensive review of the current energy situation in Kazakhstan including fossil energy and renewable resources and analyses policy drivers for the energy sector. Emphasising that clean energy covers a variety of renewables, as well as cleaner use of hydrocarbons, this book argues that future technological change will affect the relative attractiveness of the various choices.

Recognising technical, geographical and domestic and international political constraints on policymakers? options, this book will be of interest to an interdisciplinary audience in the fields of resource management and clean energy, development economics and Central Asian Studies.

Introduction

Richard Pomfret

Part one: Setting the scene

1. Resource-rich countries, clean energy and volatility of oil prices

2. Fulfilment of obligations aligned by the Kyoto Protocol and beyond

3. Moving towards sustainable energy in a resource-rich country: setting the context for Kazakhstan

Part two: Evolution and future scenarios for Kazakhstan’s energy sector

4. Integration of wind and solar power in Kazakhstan: incentives and barriers

5. The national power grid and the room for feed-in energy supply: USSR heritage in Kazakhstan and international best-practice benchmarks

6. Scheduling and planning for optimal operations of power plants using a unit commitment approach

7. Scenarios of GHG emissions from fuel combustion in Kazakhstan

8. Determination of optimal CO2 allowance prices for stimulation of investments in CCS, RES and other carbon-clean technologies in Kazakhstan

9.Carbon capture and storage in geological formations: the potential for Kazakhstan

10. Energy service centres: an innovative approach to achieving energy efficiency in Kazakhstan

11. Samruk-Green Energy LLP: case study

Part three: Learning from global practice

12. Biogas for sustainable rural communities: case studies

13. How biotechnology can be used to develop sustainable fuels and energy resources

14. Why firms eco-innovate

15. Low carbon cities and the development of cleantech innovation clusters in oil-rich economies: a case study on Masdar City

Part four: Looking forward

16. Challenges for Kazakhstan’s energy sector to 2050

Index

Yelena Kalyuzhnova is Professor of Economics, Director of the Centre for Euro-Asian Studies and Vice Dean (International) at Henley Business School in the University of Reading, UK.

Richard Pomfret is Professor of Economics at the University of Adelaide, Australia, Adjunct Professor of International Economics, The Johns Hopkins University SAIS Europe, Italy, and Fellow of the Centre for Euro-Asian Studies, University of Reading, UK.