According to the Ministry of Industry and Energy of the Kyrgyz Republic, the practical use of renewable energy in the Kyrgyz Republic is less than 1%. At the same time, the potential resources of renewable energy in the country are significant. On the website of the Ministry, only the resources of small rivers are estimated at 8 billion kWh of electricity, although many independent experts dispute this figure. “Today, many officials have rooted the opinion that increasing energy generation is only possible through the construction or expansion of powerful dams and outdated thermal power plants.
However, this will require large capital investments and long implementation periods. The parallel development of small/micro hydropower plants is an alternative and a sensible complement for this direction,” says Azamat Usupbaev, director of Kara-Kul Energy LLC, “Although the cost of electricity production in small hydropower is higher than in large hydropower plants, the payback period is significantly shorter, and construction costs are lower.” “The development of small energy will significantly address the issue of meeting the needs of the population and agriculture for electrical and thermal energy, especially in regions remote from centralized energy networks. According to coordinators Nataliya Bogatova and Mikhail Yakovlev of the ED “BIOM,” small hydropower plants in Kyrgyzstan contribute to targeted regional development. If a private entrepreneur builds a small hydropower plant and directs part of the generated energy for personal use while selling part, it will be beneficial for both business and the state. Environmentalists also point out another advantage of small energy: small hydropower plants do not require the construction of daily regulation reservoirs. For example, in the Alamedin cascade of 8 hydropower plants, there are no reservoirs except for the reservoir of HPP-5, built during the Soviet era to cover peak loads in the energy system. This reduces the negative impact on the environment and contributes to the preservation of floodplain forests and biodiversity.
Moreover, small hydropower plants are not dependent on the water level in the Toktogul reservoir, which allows them to ensure uninterrupted operation for large local consumers such as “Shoro,” “Kulikovsky Cake,” “Shin Line,” etc., meaning that small hydropower plants help the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the republic. However, despite many “pluses,” the current practical exploitation of the energy potential of small watercourses is only 3%. Problems with small hydropower plants increasingly remain on paper rather than becoming reality. The director of the Kalininskaya small hydropower plant, Eleonora Kazakova, shares that all small hydropower plants require major repairs today. “If urgent measures are not taken for their reconstruction and modernization, these stations may be permanently lost,” says the specialist. According to UNDP expert Elena Rodina, the main goal of work on developing small energy should be the reconstruction of existing small hydropower plants; the introduction of new capacities; and the construction of small hydropower plants in new river sites and on existing water management facilities. Doctor of Economics Ailych Sarybaev states that building small hydropower plants will help solve the country’s economic problems. “Kyrgyzstan has a lot of rivers and water resources, so we cannot delay any longer and must take action.” Members of the Interagency Working Group for developing the Action Plan for energy conservation and energy efficiency of the National Program for Energy Efficiency and Energy Conservation (NPEE) of the Kyrgyz Republic until 2017, led by the Ministry of Energy and Industry, also recognized that one of the most important priorities of the new program will be the development of small and micro hydropower plants. In fact, the Program for the Development of Small and Medium Energy has long proposed a list of more than forty small hydropower plants for construction, restoration, and modernization. But progress is “stalled” for many reasons. Small hydropower plants in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic were built long ago, and after the restructuring, the unneeded hydro builders left for Russia. As they say, “there are no others, and those are far away.” A good result requires a team. A hydrologist-explorer is needed, at least 1 designer and 1 constructor are required, and at least 3 mechanical engineers are needed. Today, the country is experiencing a clear shortage of specialists in the construction of small hydropower plants, and those that are available are already of advanced age. Hydrologist Alexey Shilo is already 70 years old! The age of expert Lipkin is even older. As a result, even water measurements are conducted by non-specialists.
According to Azamat Usupbaev, for the past 5 years, water measurements in Chatkal have been conducted by an employee of the mining enterprise “Ken-Tuu,” Timur Smambekov. As a result, it is necessary to attract foreign specialists and pay them serious money. Thus, to carry out the technical and economic justification for the construction of the Karakol small hydropower plant, designers from the Stuttgart Institute in Germany were involved. But foreigners are also prone to mistakes. They fulfilled the order, but the water calculation turned out to be incorrect. That is, the water flow of the Karakol River was much lower than the calculated data. Another problem is the lack of equipment for small hydropower plants. It has to be ordered from the Russian Federation. Overall, all these problems are logical: there was no demand, and there was no development. It is also challenging to attract large investments in the construction of small hydropower plants in mountainous and inaccessible areas. “I don’t think foreign investors are interested in working in this direction,” said deputy Iskhak Masaliev, “Our population is not solvent, and there is virtually no production. So any investor will think carefully before taking on such a task. Owners of small hydropower plants should be given preferences to attract investors.”
An important role in creating favorable conditions for investors is also assigned to compliance with environmental construction standards. Environmentalists believe that although small hydropower plants are less hazardous from an ecological point of view than large cascades, a systemic ecological approach is necessary when building any type of small hydropower plants. This means that ecological expertise is needed in each specific case: the impact of small hydropower plants on the ecology of different regions depends on nature, terrain, and flora and fauna. “At present, the state cannot provide funding for programs to develop small hydropower, but in accordance with the law on ‘Concessions and concession enterprises,’ it is ready to offer its subsoil, land, and natural resources for the development of mutually beneficial projects. With this aim, for example, the UNDP/GEF Project ‘Development of Small Hydropower’ aims to accelerate the process of sustainable electricity generation through the construction of six small hydropower plants within two years. This includes 4 small hydropower plants in Chon-Kemin, 1 in Karakol, and 1 on the Beles River in the Batken region. Experts unanimously believe that creating a legislative framework for developing renewable energy and small hydropower plants within the new National Program of the Kyrgyz Republic for Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency until 2017 will make it possible to meet the electricity needs of half of the population in the coming years, which will significantly increase electricity production, unload the energy system in terms of capacity during peak loads. Let’s remember that the electrification of Kyrgyzstan began precisely with small energy when engineer V.A. Vasilyev laid the foundations for the construction of the small hydropower plant on the Alamedin River, near the city of Pishpek. In 1928, a small hydropower plant with a capacity of 410 kW was put into operation. Subsequently, other small stations were built, most of them on the Big Chui Canal. All of them are still operational today. Will small energy continue to have a significant impact on the energy situation in the Republic? Additionally.
Today, the Interagency Working Group for developing the Action Plan for Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency (NPEE) of the National Program for Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency of the Kyrgyz Republic until 2017, chaired by the Ministry of Energy and Industry, includes representatives from ministries and agencies, as well as the Ecological Movement “BIOM,” represented by the “Energy Efficiency for a Stable Future” project of the “Clean Energy” program. According to ED “BIOM” coordinator Nataliya Bogatova, preparing the Action Plan for energy conservation and energy efficiency in our country requires assessing the potential of various energy-saving resources in Kyrgyzstan. “Our project has long promoted the ideas of energy efficiency and conservation into practice. Our movement is also part of the republican Association of Renewable Energy, actively promoting the ideas of energy conservation in various sectors of the economy. The wide use of hydropower resources from small rivers and watercourses is viewed as significantly influencing the energy situation in the Republic (increasing electricity production, unloading the energy system during peak loads). Part of our contribution to energy conservation policy in Kyrgyzstan from the perspective of small energy also includes informational posters highlighting the advantages of small and micro hydropower plants. They are distributed to anyone interested completely free: without necessary knowledge, it is difficult to achieve success in promoting sustainable development in society.”
Text and photo: Irina Bayramukova
