COVID-19 Latest
Kyrgyzstan|opinion & analysis|June 13, 2024 / 04:27 PM
IFC Vice President: Unleashing the Kyrgyz Republic's solar power

AKIPRESS.COM -  


By Emmanuel Nyirinkindi, IFC Vice President of Cross-Cutting Solutions

The Kyrgyz Republic, with towering mountain ranges and rolling, open plains, receives more than 2,500 hours of sunlight a year. Transforming this sunshine into abundant renewable energy can fuel economic growth, advance government climate commitments, and improve the lives of people by providing access to such clean, affordable energy.

For the Kyrgyz Republic, the country’s clean energy path is clearly laid out in its Energy Strategy 2035. This path includes developing 1,500 megawatts of non-hydro renewable energy in the coming years, while complementing the country’s considerable hydropower resources.

Achieving this ambitious agenda will require the participation of the private sector. It will be fundamental to draw from private sector expertise and mobilize private sector capital. Tapping into the abundant sunshine, for instance, can bolster the country’s renewable energy sector, expand its power mix, and help meet the growing demand for energy in the country and across the region.

IFC is proud to support the Kyrgyz Republic in these efforts. As an advisor, IFC is working with the government in developing the country’s first renewable energy public-private partnership (PPP), a pilot solar plant in Kongorchok that will provide up to 150 megawatts of grid-connected solar power.

As the first competitively tendered renewable energy project in the Republic, this project will help establish a benchmark in terms of tariffs, as well as a structure for a balanced risk allocation that makes the private sector’s role possible. It will establish a precedent for many more solar energy projects across the nation. We have seen this approach yielding successful results and record-low tariffs through competition. In Uzbekistan, for example, we have supported the government with three rounds of solar tenders over the past five years.

The Government of Kyrgyz Republic continues to demonstrate its commitment to a sustainable energy future, and thus IFC signed a new mandate to help develop a second solar project when we gathered for the Kyrgyz Republic International Energy Investment Forum held this week in Vienna. Tapping into private sector expertise and capital to invest in large-scale renewable power projects not only brings robust economic development, but also supports the country’s climate goals.

The Energy Forum provided the Government of Kyrgyz Republic and its partners a platform to have a meaningful dialogue on how to move the agenda forward on energy reforms, renewable energy development, and the clean energy transition. IFC stands ready to further support the Kyrgyz Republic in its sustainable energy journey.

All rights reserved

© AKIpress News Agency - 2001-2024.

Republication of any material is prohibited without a written agreement with AKIpress News Agency.

Any citation must be accompanied by a hyperlink to akipress.com.

Our address:

299/5 Chingiz Aitmatov Prosp., Bishkek, the Kyrgyz Republic

e-mail: english@akipress.org, akipressenglish@gmail.com;

Follow us:

Log in


Forgot your password? - recover

Not registered yet? - sign-up

Sign-up

I have an account - log in

Password recovery

I have an account - log in