Kazakhstan must achieve a sustainable energy surplus by 2029. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
This was stated by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in his address to the nation today. The head of state noted that it is very important for Kazakhstan to turn its raw material advantage into sustainable energy and technological progress. He also reminded that there are very few professional energy specialists in the country.
"Kazakhstan's energy sector faces a serious deficit every year, so in winter electricity is purchased from neighboring countries at high prices, and then returned in summer at significantly reduced prices. This simple 'business' has been going on for decades. They are trying to convince me that this is normal practice in the energy sector," the president said.
Tokayev noted that therefore it is not surprising that the construction of the Balkhash thermal power plant has stalled. The head of state emphasized that the volume of electricity Kazakhstan currently produces is insufficient.
"Kazakhstan produces 123 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. For a country with developing industry, construction, agro-industrial complex and, most importantly, plans for full digitalization of the economy and the introduction of artificial intelligence in all spheres of public life, including the construction of data processing centers, this volume of electricity production is extremely insufficient. Therefore, we face the task of achieving a sustainable energy surplus by 2029," Tokayev said.
The president noted that for this purpose it is necessary to build new power plants and power transmission lines, modernize existing ones, fully develop "clean" coal generation and focus on renewable energy sources, primarily solar power plants. Therefore, the government must update the country's unified long-term energy balance by 2035.