BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 9. Kazakhstan’s
minimum auction price for wind power projects fell by 34% between
2018 and 2025, from 17.39 tenge ($0.0389) to 11.49 tenge ($0.0257)
per kilowatt-hour (kWh), following the introduction of a renewable
energy auction system, according to the National Energy Report
prepared by the Kazenergy Association in cooperation with S&P
Global.
According to the report, the introduction of auctions
significantly reduced electricity prices for renewable energy
projects compared with the previously used system of preferential
fixed tariffs. It also enabled Kazakhstan to benefit from the
global decline in renewable energy technology costs.
From 2018 to 2025, minimum auction prices for wind power
projects decreased by an average of 5.7% annually, while those for
solar power projects fell by approximately 3.7% per year.
The decline was uneven. For wind power plants, the minimum
auction price fell from 17.39 tenge ($0.0389) per kWh in 2018 to a
record low of 6.90 tenge ($0.0154) per kWh in 2024, before rising
to 11.49 tenge ($0.0257) per kWh in 2025.
For solar power plants, following a substantial initial decline,
prices have largely stabilized at around 14 tenge per kWh in recent
years. The minimum auction price stood at 13.89 tenge ($0.0311) per
kWh in 2023, 14.22 tenge ($0.0318) per kWh in 2024, and 13.85 tenge
($0.0310) per kWh in 2025.
The report also notes that, in 2023, the government supplemented
the existing auction system with direct negotiations with selected
foreign investors to accelerate the deployment of new renewable
energy capacity. These projects are planned to be implemented
outside competitive bidding procedures under intergovernmental
agreements.
Five projects with a combined capacity of 3.9 gigawatts (GW) are
planned for implementation by 2030. According to the report, they
are being developed under a special international model that
provides significant incentives, including 25-year electricity
purchase agreements, guarantees of regulatory stability,
electricity prices denominated in US dollars, and no requirement to
participate in the electricity balancing market.
Three major projects, each with a capacity of 1 GW and involving
battery energy storage systems (BESS), are being implemented by Abu
Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC (Masdar), TotalEnergies SE, and
CPIH.
Two additional projects with a combined capacity of 900
megawatts (MW) are being implemented under direct investment
agreements by China Energy Overseas Investment Co. Ltd (800 MW) and
PetroKazakhstan Inc. (100 MW).
Kazakhstan is also developing two major hybrid power generation
projects outside the country’s auction system, the report says.
In 2026, the country’s first hybrid power plant, with a capacity
of 247 MW, was commissioned in the Mangystau region in partnership
with Eni SpA.
The second project, being implemented jointly with Power
Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina), is expected to be
commissioned in 2029. It will increase the capacity of an existing
wind power facility in the Almaty region from 60 MW to 810 MW and
include the construction of a 310 MW hydropower plant. The
hydropower facility is intended to compensate for fluctuations in
wind power generation and ensure a stable electricity supply.
Currency conversions were calculated using the exchange rate of
$1 = 447.14 tenge of the National Bank of Kazakhstan as of November
9, 2026.
