Rasim Nigmatuffin, Head of Training and Research Laboratory, Ph.D In Engineering Science, Assistant professor of Power Supply and Renewable Energy Sources Department,
Gumar Daukeyev, Almaty University of Energy and Communication

Kazakhstan has significant reserves of fossil fuels, which account for about 4% of the world's total reserves. Therefore, the energy sector is one of the most developed sectors of the economy of Kazakhstan. In addition, it should be noted that our country also has significant renewable energy resources in the form of solar energy, wind energy, hydropower and renewable biomass reserves.

Bright sun shines 300 days a year across much of Kazakhstan, and luminous power is on average up to 1000 watts per square meter of the earth's surface. In this regard, Kazakhstan is considered as one of the most suitable countries in the world for use of solar energy.

Kazakhstan is located in the northern hemisphere. Quite strong air currents are observed across much of Kazakhstan, mainly in the North-eastern, South-western directions. The average annual wind speed is more than 6 m/s, which makes these areas attractive for the development of wind energy. According to experts, only potential of solar energy in our country is about 1500-1600 kwh/m2 per year, and the wind potential is estimated at 1820 billion kWh per year.

Development of renewable energy in Kazakhstan and AUPET

It is necessary to note an important date for the development of renewable energy in Kazakhstan - July 4, 2009. It was on this day that the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On support for use of Renewable Energy Sources" was adopted for the first time and the progressive development of the renewable energy sector in our country began.

The Expo-2017 exhibition, held in Astana, defined a new vector in development of energy industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan, aimed at decarbonizing the energy sector and developing "green" technologies.

Following the global trend of gradual transition to renewable energy sources, AUPET is gradually increasing its scientific and educational potential for development of this area. Thus, in 2018, AUPET became the first university in the Central Asian region to become the basic training center of the project under the management of "Tetra Tech Kazakhstan" for development of solar and wind energy. "Tetra Tech Kazakhstan" opened its representative office in the university and provided assistance in conducting seminars and training courses, provided financial assistance in purchasing complete equipment for mini solar and wind power plants and licensed software.

Renewable Energy Education Program

In 2020, employees of Department of Power Supply and Renewable Energy (SoltanayevA. M., Tergemes K. T., Arystanov N. N., Nigmatullin R. M.) together with partner enterprises developed a pilot Educational program "Modern and innovative technologies of renewable energy" for bachelors and undergraduates and first students have already started their studies this year under this program. This educational program is intended to prepare the right human resources for green energy in our country, having appropriate skills for a wide range of requirements of the developing energy industry in the Republic of Kazakhstan and abroad. Training of specialists having special knowledge in this field is very important for integration of clean and affordable energy technologies into the country's energy sector. After completing the new program, the graduates will know the principles of converting solar energy into electrical and thermal energy, solar power and heat supply systems with calculation of parameters and control schemes for technological processes. They will know how to install, commission and operate the installations. In on-site training of students, the latest educational and laboratory installations are used, such as "Solar photovoltaic system with an uninterruptible power supply system", physical simulators of installations operating autonomously and online.

Almaty University of Power Engineering and Telecommunications strongly supports the state policy of training engineering personnel in demand for energy sector of the Republic of Kazakhstan and in October 2020, together with USAID, opened a training and research laboratory "Renewable energy sources and Energy Preservation" in laboratory facilities of Power supply and Renewable Energy Source Faculty.

Opening of Training and Research Laboratory (TRL) provides an opportunity for students, undergraduates and doctoral candidates at existing mini Solarand Wind power plants to improve theirskills and technical expertise, gain access to educational resources and scientific research of partner companies, and give teachers the opportunity to exchange experience and improve the level of teaching in the new Educational Program on Renewable energy sources.

Establishment of TRL "RES and Energy Conservation" will allow training of highly-employable, qualified specialists in installation, commissioning and operation of renewable, "green" energy facilities, as well as improving skills of undergraduates, doctoral candidates and teachers to satisfy demands of new industrial and technological reality, which brings the automation of technological processes of generation and consumption of energy to the forefront.

For further development of areas related to use of renewable energy, it is planned to create a "Renewable Energy" landfill at the AUPET. This training area will be used for teaching undergraduate students and for research work on thesis of undergraduates in scientific and pedagogical and specialized areas of the new educational program. The training area will use a 10 kW roof solar power plant (SPP), a 5+4 kW wind-solar combined power plant, a coherent Doppler lidar for monitoring wind conditions, and other modern equipment.

AUPET experience in development of first renewable energy projects in the Republic of Kazakhstan

As leader of Kazakhstan's system of training the technical specialists for energy sector, AUPET always sets long-term goals in terms of systematic training of specialists for national and multinational companies of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Over the past 20 years, under the leadership of the founder and first rector of the Alma-Ata Energy Institute (now AUPET), Albert V. Bolotov, several significant projects for construction of wind power plants have been successfully implemented at Industrial Power Supply Faculty (now Power supply and Renewable Energy Source Faculty). For example, a 40 kW wind power plant was built on the Talgar mountain crossing in Almaty region, as well as a 10 kW wind power plant near Zhana-Korgan in Kyzylorda region, and many others. Below are the works performed at the faculty with a brief description of the projects:

Cape Chelyuskin Lighthouse, the Arctic Ocean. Maintenance of Bolotov VRTB-2 CPP combined with photovoltaic panels for the Russian light-beacon system.

1993 - Applications for patents of the Republic of Kazakhstan were filed Windrotor power plant "Boni". Alternator

Authors: Bolotov Albert Vasilyevich, Novokshenov Vladimir Stepanovich, Bakenov Kairat Asangaliyevich

Graduates of AUPET successfully find jobs not only in Kazakhstan, but also in Russia, the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Israel. We, the first graduates of our university, are optimistic and confident about the future, continuing the glorious traditions of successful development of our university, passing on our rich experience and accumulated knowledge to the young and talented generation of our students, undergraduates and doctoral candidates.

Albert Vasilyevich Bolotov (15.09.1934-24.01.2021) -was a Kazakh scientist and inventor, the first rector of the Alma-Ata Energy Institute. Albert Vassilyevich is the inventor of a unique wind turbine, the first creator of wind energy sources in Kazakhstan, the author of more than 400 scientific articles and 106 copyright certificates for inventions. His passing away is a significant loss for the scientific and engineering community of Kazakhstan. The Solar Power Association of Qazaqstan expresses its condolences to the family and friends of Albert Vassilyevich.