Eni Starts Building 250 MW RE-Gas Plant in Kazakhstan

Eni SPA and local partner NC KazMunayGas JSC (KMG) have started constructing a 250-megawatt renewable energy-gas power plant in Zhanaozen, Kazakhstan.

The project is “Kazakhstan’s first hybrid power plant integrating solar, wind, and gas power to produce and supply low-carbon, stable electricity to KMG subsidiaries in the [Mangystau] region”, the Italian energy major said in a statement.

“The project pioneers the hybrid combination of state-of-the-art renewable power plants, developed in collaboration with Eni’s subsidiary Plenitude, and a gas power plant to balance and to stabilize the electricity production, overall leveraging Eni’s international industrial expertise”, Eni said.

Kazakhstan’s state-owned KMG and Eni, also controlled by the Italian government, announced the hybrid generation project June 8, 2023. The two then signed a “joint confirmation” agreement on the project January 18, 2024, among a suite of deals inked at that time between Eni and Kazakhstani companies supporting the Central Asian country’s energy transition.

Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna JSC (SK) and Eni signed a memorandum of understanding for several projects including exploring the possibility of building more hybrid plants across Kazakhstan. The deal also involves “the assessment of mineral initiatives and the development of other carbon emission reduction technologies”, Eni said in a press release at the time.

An SK portfolio company, NC QazaqGaz JSC, also signed with Eni an agreement “focused on the exchange of experience among scientific, technical and research centers to develop technological innovations and human capital, with the aim of reducing carbon emissions in gas industry operations”, Eni added.

In Kazakhstan’s renewable energy sector, Eni has 150 MW in declared installed capacity.

Last year it inaugurated its first solar project in the country, a 50 MW photovoltaic facility catering to the Turkistan region. The project is designed to produce up to 90 gigawatt hours (gWh) of electricity annually with 93,000 panels and an electrical substation, according to operator Eni Plenitude. It will rise on 100 hectares of land in the village of Shaulder and will have a 4.66 powerline for integration into the national grid.

“The construction of the Shaulder photovoltaic farm represents the first important step for Plenitude in the solar energy sector in Kazakhstan”, Stefano Goberti, chief executive of Eni renewables arm Plenitude, said in a statement September 27, 2023. “The plant will contribute to the development of Turkistan Region by making available to the local territory the most advanced technologies in this field”.

In 2022 Eni inaugurated its second wind farm in Kazakhstan, with a 48 MW capacity, located in Aktobe region. “To date the wind turbines of Badamsha II are the largest installed in Kazakhstan, both in terms of size (rotor diameter 158 meters, hub 101 meters) and power (4.8 MW each) and are expected to deliver an annual energy generation up to 200 GWh, which is equivalent to the energy consumption of around 37,000 households, and an overall CO2 [carbon dioxide] saving of 173,000 tons per year”, Eni said in a news release March 2, 2022.

Eni’s first wind farm in the country, the 48-MW Badamsha I, was commissioned early 2020.

In oil and gas, Eni produces 60 million barrels of oil equivalent annually in Kazakhstan, including 93 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 42 million barrels of oil and condensate, according to the company.

Kazakhstan has set an unconditional target of curbing its greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent by 2030 relative to 1990 levels, according to its Nationally Determined Contribution, or climate neutrality target, deposited before the United Nations June 27, 2023.

Eni meanwhile targets to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

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