Kazakhstan launches largest solar plant in Central Asia

The plant has 100MW capacity and uses 300,000 solar modules.

Saran City, Karagandy, Kazakhstan now hosts a 100MW capacity solar power plant (SPP), the largest in the Central Asian region. Azernews reports that the plant, called SES Saran, uses 300,000 solar modules from Canadian Solar Inc., and is a joint initiative of the Kazakh government with German, Czech, and Slovak companies and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (ERBD).

The SES Saran plant is expected to generate more jobs for the local community, who will benefit from six more green energy facilities by 2020. According to Azernews, the country has implemented 50 renewable energy projects since 2013, particularly related to solar, wind, and hydroelectric power plants with a total capacity of more than 300 MW.

Kazakhstan is known to have great potential for solar energy, with almost 70% of the entire country enjoying a predominantly sunny weather. Across one year, the duration of sunshine in Kazakhstan ranges from 2,800 to 3,000 hours.

Photo By U.S. Department of the Interior, CC BY-SA 2.0