Opportunities for renewable energy sources in Central Asia countries

Technical Report · Wed Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1998

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/663593· OSTI ID:663593

Obozov, A J ^[1]; Loscutoff, W V ^[2]

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1. Project KUN (Kyrgyzstan)
2. National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)

This report presents an overview of the state of conventional energy sources and the potential for development of renewable energy sources in the Central Asia countries of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. The region has a population of about 50 million in an area of more than four million square kilometers. The per capita gross internal product is more than $2,500, although the economy has been declining the past five years. The area has substantial coal, oil, uranium, and natural gas reserves, although they are not distributed equally among the five countries. Energy production is such that the countries do not have to rely heavily on imports. One of the problems in Central Asia is that the energy prices are substantially below the world prices. This is a factor in development of renewable energy sources. The primary renewable energy resources available are wind in Kazakhstan, solar in the entire region, biomass in Kyrgyzstan, and micro-hydropower stations in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. All of these have the potential to provide a significant amount of the required energy for the region. However, all of the countries have an abundance of various renewable energy resources. To effectively use these resources, however, a number of barriers to their development and commercialization must be overcome. These include low prices of conventional energy sources, absence of legislative support, lack of financing for new technologies, and lack of awareness of renewable energy sources by the population. A number of specific actions are proposed to overcome these barriers. These include establishment of a Central Asia coordinating council for renewable energy, development of a regional renewable energy program, and setting up a number of large demonstration projects. 16 figs.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Assistant Secretary for Management and Administration, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-83CH10093
• OSTI ID: 663593
• Report Number(s): NREL/TP--210-25047; ON: DE98007059
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY
BIOMASS
HYDROELECTRIC POWER
KAZAKHSTAN
KYRGYZSTAN
RESOURCE POTENTIAL
SOLAR ENERGY
TAJIKISTAN
TURKMENISTAN
UZBEKISTAN
WIND POWER