Smaller Power Stations Seen as the Future
Smaller Power Stations Seen as the Future
Building modestly-sized hydroelectric power stations could help solve Kyrgyzstan’s energy problems assuming the right climate is created for commercial investment, say NBCentralAsia commentators. At the same time, they say, environmental considerations will be a factor in deciding whether to build such power stations.
The architects of Kyrgyzstan’s National Energy Programme for 2006-2010 last week announced two priority areas on which their plan will focus: making greater use of renewable energy sources, and raising substantial investments to build small hydroelectric power stations in mountainous and remote regions.
At the moment, Kyrgyzstan has ten small and six big hydroelectric power stations in operation. Plans are in train to build two hydroelectric cascade schemes, on the upper Naryn river and at Kambarata, lower down the same river.
Member of parliament Osmonbek Artykbaev argues that small power stations financed through private investment are more efficient than the large state-run hydroelectric schemes.
“At the moment, everything gets stolen,” he said. “Smaller power stations won’t have the same kind of losses as they'll be better managed. They will prove themselves and secure electricity supplies for the public. They will also offer an alternative [to the big producers], and prices will go down.”
Artykbaev says the state energy programme will create the legal framework in which both renewables and mini-power stations could supply about half the domestic demand for electricity. Together with existing generating capacity, this would allow some electricity to be sold abroad, earning revenues that in turn could go towards modernising the big power stations, where 70 per cent of the machinery is considered obsolete.
The national statistics agency says that electricity production currently accounts for just five per cent of gross domestic product.
Economist Ayilchy Sarybaev sees the construction of small hydroelectric stations as a way of addressing Kyrgyzstan’s economic problems. “We have many rivers and lots of water resources in Kyrgyzstan, so we should get started without further delay,” he said.
However, member of parliament Iskhak Masaliev warns that Kyrgyzstan is not in a position to raise the investment needed to implement its National Energy Programme. “I doubt foreign investors will be interested,” he said. “The public is not able to pay [electricity bills], and there is virtually no industrial production. So any investor is going to think twice before taking this on.”
Masaliev said building more power stations cannot be justified from an environmental point of view, either. Kalia Moldogazieva, who heads the Tree of Life ecology group, said that while small hydroelectric schemes pose fewer risks than big ones, the whole of the local ecosystem needs to be looked at before construction begins.
“Any hydroelectric power station, whatever its size, is going to have some negative effect on the environment, so an impact assessment must be conducted beforehand,” said Moldogazieva. “It depends on the location – if there are rare plants or substantial numbers of wild animals, environmentalists will oppose construction.”
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
The architects of Kyrgyzstan’s National Energy Programme for 2006-2010 last week announced two priority areas on which their plan will focus: making greater use of renewable energy sources, and raising substantial investments to build small hydroelectric power stations in mountainous and remote regions.
At the moment, Kyrgyzstan has ten small and six big hydroelectric power stations in operation. Plans are in train to build two hydroelectric cascade schemes, on the upper Naryn river and at Kambarata, lower down the same river.
Member of parliament Osmonbek Artykbaev argues that small power stations financed through private investment are more efficient than the large state-run hydroelectric schemes.
“At the moment, everything gets stolen,” he said. “Smaller power stations won’t have the same kind of losses as they'll be better managed. They will prove themselves and secure electricity supplies for the public. They will also offer an alternative [to the big producers], and prices will go down.”
Artykbaev says the state energy programme will create the legal framework in which both renewables and mini-power stations could supply about half the domestic demand for electricity. Together with existing generating capacity, this would allow some electricity to be sold abroad, earning revenues that in turn could go towards modernising the big power stations, where 70 per cent of the machinery is considered obsolete.
The national statistics agency says that electricity production currently accounts for just five per cent of gross domestic product.
Economist Ayilchy Sarybaev sees the construction of small hydroelectric stations as a way of addressing Kyrgyzstan’s economic problems. “We have many rivers and lots of water resources in Kyrgyzstan, so we should get started without further delay,” he said.
However, member of parliament Iskhak Masaliev warns that Kyrgyzstan is not in a position to raise the investment needed to implement its National Energy Programme. “I doubt foreign investors will be interested,” he said. “The public is not able to pay [electricity bills], and there is virtually no industrial production. So any investor is going to think twice before taking this on.”
Masaliev said building more power stations cannot be justified from an environmental point of view, either. Kalia Moldogazieva, who heads the Tree of Life ecology group, said that while small hydroelectric schemes pose fewer risks than big ones, the whole of the local ecosystem needs to be looked at before construction begins.
“Any hydroelectric power station, whatever its size, is going to have some negative effect on the environment, so an impact assessment must be conducted beforehand,” said Moldogazieva. “It depends on the location – if there are rare plants or substantial numbers of wild animals, environmentalists will oppose construction.”
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
