Impact of future energy policy on water resources in Kazakhstan

As part of its strategic economic and social plan, Kazakhstan has a target of increasing the share of renewables and alternative energy sources in power generation to 50% by 2050. This greatly contrasts with the current situation, where around 90% of electricity is produced from fossil fuels. To ach...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energy strategy reviews 2019-04, Vol.24, p.261-267
Main Authors: Rivotti, Pedro, Karatayev, Marat, Mourão, Zenaida Sobral, Shah, Nilay, Clarke, Michèle L., Dennis Konadu, D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Energy policy
Energy transition
Kazakhstan
Water resources
Water-energy nexus
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Summary:As part of its strategic economic and social plan, Kazakhstan has a target of increasing the share of renewables and alternative energy sources in power generation to 50% by 2050. This greatly contrasts with the current situation, where around 90% of electricity is produced from fossil fuels. To achieve the target, the introduction of between 600 and 2000 MW of nuclear power is expected by 2030. This would impact water resources, already under stress due to significant losses, heavy reliance on irrigation for agriculture, unevenly distributed surface water, variations in transboundary inflows, amongst others. This study presents an integrated analysis of the water-energy systems in Kazakhstan, to investigate the water resource availability to support such energy system transition. •The impact of a new energy system on water resources in Kazakhstan is examined.•The interactions and linkages between the water and energy systems are identified.•Data is collected and analysed at the river basin level.•Water withdrawals from new nuclear plants will highly impact the chosen basin.•The new energy mix will significantly impact regions dependent on transboundary inflows.
ISSN:2211-467X
2211-467X
DOI:10.1016/j.esr.2019.04.009