Cop: ADB, Kazakhstan tie up on early coal retirement

Market: Coal, Emissions
14/11/24

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Kazakhstan signed an agreement at the UN Cop 29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan on 13 November to collaborate on the possible early retirement of a coal plant in Kazakhstan.

The ADB and Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy signed the agreement to work on a pilot transaction to reduce the country's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, possibly through decommissioning or repurposing a pilot coal plant for renewables or other low-carbon energy technologies.

The partners will conduct a feasibility study to identify which plant among a selection of coal-fired power generation, combined heat and power plants, and heat-only boilers could be viable for early retirement.

The parties also agreed to analyse the impact that the early decommissioning of the plant could have on Kazakhstan's power and heat supply, and will work together on developing the country's renewable energy generation capacity, and promote regional energy trade.

The agreement comes under the ADB's Energy Transition Mechanism, which aims to support the shift away from coal-fired power plants.

Kazakhstan is estimated to be the eighth-largest consumer of coal worldwide, with some 25bn t of reserves, said the ADB. About 70pc of the country's electricity is produced from coal, according to the IEA. The country earlier this year projected that it will use 8.6mn t of thermal coal for its heating season this year.

State-run Kazakh Invest announced in October that Chinese companies plan to invest billions of dollars in Kazakhstan's coal sector, including the construction of a power plant, even as the country plans to develop new gas fields with a total production capacity of 1bn m³/yr, to switch away from coal for power generation and domestic consumption.

By Prethika Nair

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