Some suggestions for solar industry development in Kazakhstan are put forward in this paper, based on the analysis of global solar energy industry development model.
Why is Kazakhstan developing solar energy technologies?
Kazakhstan is developing solar energy technologies, namely production of photovoltaic modules using local silicon. As Kazakhstan is rich in silicon (85 million tons), production of silicon solar batteries on the domestic market was started (Sim, 2015).
Which part of Kazakhstan receives the most solar radiation?
During the summer months (June – August), due to its geographical location, the southern part of Kazakhstan receives direct solar radiation for the most of the daylight hours which constitute 83 – 96% of the maximum possible value.
Why is Kazakhstan a good country?
Kazakhstan is rich in different mineral resources, oil, gas and coal being the most important ones for the economy of the country. Therefore, since independence, the government of Kazakhstan mainly focused on developing the fossil fuel industry rather than alternative energy resources.
Diesel is the single largest component (product) in Kazakhstan's refinery slate and in its domestic consumption balance; widely consumed within Kazakhstan, diesel is used across many economic sectors, while transportation (trucking) is the single largest consumer. Kazakhstan remained a (small) net importer of diesel each year during 2016-22.
While the northern part of the country receives approximately 2,000 hours of sunshine, the southern cities such as Kyzylorda and Shymkent receive 2,936 and 2,892 hours of sunshine annually, which is enough to meet the electricity demand of southern Kazakhstan.
Annual potential of solar energy is estimated to reach 2.5 billion kWh. Table 1 shows data on monthly and annual values of the solar radiation for three areas: Fort-Shevchenko (on the coast of the Caspian Sea), the Aral Sea basin (near the Aral Sea coast) and Almaty (southeast Kazakhstan).