TotalEnergies signed a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the largest wind energy initiative ever undertaken in Kazakhstan, the company announced on Friday.
Located in the southeastern Zhambyl region of Kazakhstan, the $1.4 billion project aims to build a 1 gigawatt (GW) onshore wind farm combined with a 600 megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage system.
The Mirny project, which will consist of around 200 turbines, is expected to provide electricity to 1 million people.
Supported by both the Kazakh and French authorities, the project will contribute to the Kazakh government's target of achieving 15% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030. It will also avoid the emission of approximately 3.5 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually.
'This project will contribute to the transition of Kazakhstan to green energy and will be a breakthrough in strengthening French-Kazakh investment cooperation,' the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of Kazakhstan, Almassadam Satkaliyev, was quoted as saying in the statement.
The electricity to be produced by the Mirny project will be sold in its entirety to the Financial Settlement Center (FSC) of Renewable Energy, a public entity owned by Kazakhstan, for supply to the national grid.
This agreement has been signed in Astana between Total Eren, an affiliate of TotalEnergies, and the FSC.
TotalEnergies will develop the Mirny project in partnership with the National Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna of Kazakstan and the national company KazMunayGas, which will each own a 20% stake in the project.
By Duygu Alhan
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr