Energy cluster appears in Altai mountains
A rather large-scale environmental project has been implemented in Eastern Kazakhstan. Turgusun HPP-1 was put into operation in the Altai Mountains and is now successfully generating electricity. Launching the station as a renewable energy facility will reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by 680 tonnes. The hydroelectric power station also fulfills strategic tasks for the industrial region, namely supplying electricity to almost the entire East Kazakhstan region and covers 25 percent of the energy needs of the Altai region with a mining and processing complex and tourist facilities. The HPP has state-of-the-art equipment which allows it to be connected to the country’s power grid in 30 seconds. While the CHPP takes two weeks or longer to launch.
“It takes about two to two and a half minutes to connect the generator to the system from a cold state. If it’s in the moment of rotation, then about 30 seconds. That is, this time is enough to connect to the network and load up,” said Anton Nepomnyaschiy, duty engineer at Turgusun-1.
Private investors have invested almost 14 billion tenge (US$32.8 million) in the construction of Turgusun-1 Stage 1. The subsidiary of the Baiterek National Holding - the Development Bank of Kazakhstan (DBK), and its subsidiaries, including the Industrial Development Bank and DBK Equity Fund took over the lion’s share of financing, which is about 64 percent.
“Thanks to financial assistance from these three financial institutions, the project was successfully implemented. Although it is called a small hydroelectric power station Turgusun HPP, it still shows a good result,” noted Kalaubek Baimukhanbetov, Director of Turgusun-1.
The infrastructure that has been put in place for the construction and operation of the hydroelectric power station, namely access roads, bridges, power lines and communication lines, is of great importance for the life of the entire region as it improves transport and information operations, thereby promoting the economic development of the region.
“The DBK is one of the first financial institutions in the country to support renewable energy projects. One of the pilot projects is the Turgusun HPP. According to 2020 statistics, 17.5 percent of the total RES projects were financed by this bank,” added Tulegen Karenov, Banker at the Customer Service Department of Development Bank of Kazakhstan.
In the future, the Turgusun HPP will significantly increase its power capacity. Two more stations with a total output of over 120 megawatts will be built along the cascade of the Turgusun River.
