Renewable Energies in Kazakhstan: Current Status, Potential, Challenges, and Opportunities
Abstract
ABSTRACT The Republic of Kazakhstan is one of the resource‐rich countries and is proactively embracing the sustainable development goals (SDGs) via different strategies. The country has also pledged to achieve significant reduction in the emissions of greenhouse gases by 2030 relative to 1990 level. One of the key approaches to achieving these goals in this country is the development of renewable energies. The present study provides a comprehensive review of existing reports, data and research on renewable energy in this country by analyzing sources obtained from scientific databases, as well as reports and data from international institutions. The aim is to assess the potential and current status of various energy sources and to identify related opportunities and challenges. Among different sources, wind energy has the most significant potential to be used for power generation. This evidenced by the fact that half of the country's territory has an average wind speed in the range of 4–6 m/s. Solar energy also has acceptable potential for power generation, especially in the southern and central regions of the country with an annual potential in the range of 1300–1800 kWh/m 2 . Additionally, other sources of energy possess acceptable potential and could serve both power generation and other purposes, such as heating. Challenges related to the development of these systems can include poor infrastructures, the need for investment and technical issues like grid balance. Overall, renewable energies offer the country promising alternatives to fossil fuels, with a variety of advantages including job creation, environmental protection, enhanced energy security.