Kazakhstan has embarked on the development of renewable and alternative energy. The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan stated that the RES ratio in the total electricity generation in the country by 2030 must be at least 15%. For these purposes, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan has developed the Energy Balance until 2035; and it is also developing a Strategy to achieve net-zero emissions by the Republic of Kazakhstan by 2060. Today, 139 renewable energy facilities with an installed capacity of 2,180 MW operate in the republic, which generate 3.69% of the country's electricity.

However, the current active development of renewable energy sources has exposed the problems accumulated in the electric power industry over decades. One of the key problems in the electric power industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the shortage of power cycles, i.e., such stations that, at the command of the System Operator in the event of deviations in electricity generation, could take part in the alignment of imbalances and regulation in the Unified Electricity System of the Republic of Kazakhstan in a short period of time. The shortage of power cycles leads to the need in organization of flows from the energy systems of neighboring countries, the volume of which today is 10 times higher than the allowable range.

In order to solve the task of developing RES, as well as solving the problems of imbalances in the energy system, for the first time in our country, the gold mining company Polymetal and the Qazaq Green RES Associations will implement a comprehensive project involving the construction of two solar power plants with a total installed capacity of 39.6 MW and one gas engine mobile station with an installed capacity of 40 MW to cover the unstable generation of solar stations. The project will be implemented in the Abay and Kostanay regions within five years and will provide more than 80 MW of clean electricity per year. The total investment will be more than $90 million.

The Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan and KEGOC JSC will support the implementation of this project. To this end, on July 14, during the 60^th meeting of the CIS Power Council in Nur-Sultan, a quadripartite memorandum was signed between the Ministry of Energy, Polymetal Eurasia LLP, KEGOC JSC, and Qazaq Green RES Association ALE. The document establishes the responsibility of each party to fulfill their obligations as part of the construction of new generating capacities.

“Polymetal follows a sustainable development strategy, including high standards in the field of environmentally friendly production. One of the company's goals is to reduce emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels, as well as to achieve 7% of total electricity generation from renewable sources by 2025. In this regard, the projects planned for construction will be the key to reducing carbon footprint of the company,” said Kanat Dosmukametov, General Director of Polymetal Eurasia LLP.

“The project planned for construction is unique in that, on the one hand, we are developing renewable energy sources and building new solar stations; and on the other hand, understanding the instability of the generation of renewable energy sources, we are helping the country’s energy system to introduce new flexible capacities that will help solve the problem of imbalances and reduce dependence on flows from neighboring states. In this sense, such a project is the first in the history of the electric power industry of Kazakhstan,” said Nurlan Kapenov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Qazaq Green RES Association.

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Polymetal is one of the leaders in the recovery of precious metals with assets in Russia and Kazakhstan. It is included in the top 10 gold mining companies in the world. Polymetal's shares are traded on the London and Moscow stock exchanges, as well as on the exchange of the Astana International Financial Center - Astana International Exchange (Kazakhstan). It includes ten active gold and silver mines, as well as a high-quality portfolio of development projects.

Qazaq Green RES Association was founded in 2018. to support the development of the renewable energy sector in Kazakhstan. This company brings together investors, developers and equipment manufacturers, as well as international financial institutions, research and design institutions. The Association is accredited by the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Atameken" and is currently one of the key expert centers for the development of renewable energy in Kazakhstan.