Eni Wins Bid To Develop Solar Plant In Kazakhstan

• Kazakhstan has awarded the rights for a 50 MW solar power plant in the country to ArmWind LLP
• The Eni & GE JV secured the project with the winning bid of KZT 12.49 per kWh which the government claims is the record low bid for solar in the country so far
• ArmWind won the auction beating rivals from Kazakhstan, Germany, Italy, China, the Netherlands and Russia, said JSC KOREM
• It will be built in Turkestan and power generated will be sold off to the Settlement and Financial Center for RES for 15-year duration

Eni has secured rights to develop a 50 MW solar power plant in Kazakhstan through its subsidiary ArmWind LLP, which is the Italian oil giant's joint venture (JV) with General Electric (GE). ArmWind is already developing a 48 MW wind power project in the country it won during an online reverse auction in 2019.

The Joint Stock Company (JSC) KOREM in Kazakhstan that acts as the electricity operator in the country, says the JV won the 50 MW solar project in an auction for KZT 12.49 ($0.032) per kWh which is a record low price for solar power generation in Kazakhstan. The ceiling price for the tender was KZT 29.00 ($0.075) per kWh.

ArmWind beat seven competitors from Kazakhstan, Germany, Italy, China, the Netherlands and Russia to win this project. It will now build the project in Shaulder village of Otyrar district in Turkestan in the southern part of the country. Power generated by the plant on completion will be sold to the Settlement and Financial Center for RES over 15-year period.

The tender was oversubscribed, according to JSC KOREM. It received 95 bids totaling 350 MW.  The bids offered ranged between KZT 12.49 to KZT 29.00 per kWh.

It is a pilot project to be developed with support from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), according to JSC KOREM, and is part of a 255 MW renewable energy auction planned for 2019, of which 80 MW has been assigned to solar.

In October 2018, Kazakhstan held its first solar power auction awarding 170 MW to JSC Hydro, Avelar and Shell. The lowest winning bid came in at KZT 18.6 ($0.051) per kWh (see Kazakhstan Awards 170 MW PV In 1^st Solar Auction).

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Green Climate Fund are financing a 10 MW PV project won by JSC Hydro in the first PV auction of Kazakhstan (see 10 MW Kazakhstan Solar Project Gets €6.4 Million Loan).

Eni recently announced completing its first solar PV project in Pakistan with 10 MW capacity. The Bhit Photovoltaic Plan is designed to produce 20 GWh annually to be used by the company's Bhit Gas Plant wherein it holds 40% share. During construction launch of the Bhit and 5 MW Adam project in Tunisia in March 2019, Eni had said it will shut an existing gas turbine at Bhit Gas Plant to cut back on operational cost (see Eni Oil Facilities In Tunisia & Pakistan Go Solar).